^ubik:  health  UBRAiT 


IBRARY 

!  atanY  op 


Modern 
Park  Cemeteries 


BY 


Howard  Evarts  Weed,  M.  S. 

Landscape  Architect 


ILLUSTRATED 


CHICAGO 
Published  by  R.  J.  Haighr 

1912 


By  the  same  author 

SPRAYING  FOR  PROFIT 


PUBLIC 
HEALTH 
LIBRARY 


Copyright.  1912 

by 

HOWARD  EVARTS  WEED 


M   A    Donohue  &  Co.,  Chicago 


CONTENTS 

Chapter  Page 

I.  Cemetery    History    and    Burial 

Customs  in  America 11 

II.  The  Organization  and  Ownership 

OF  Cemeteries 18 

III.  The  Proper  Location  for  a  Cem- 

etery     .       25 

IV.  The  Cemetery  Plan 29 

V.  General  Construction  Work.   .  45 

VI.  Road  Construction 54 

VII.  Landscape  Development  ....  71 

VIII.  The    Superintendent    and    His 

Duties 84 

IX.  Mausoleums,     Monuments     and 

Headstones 88 

X.  Rules  and  Regulations    ....      96 

250807 


CONTENTS— Continued 

Chapter  Page 

XL  Perpetual  Care  Fund 102 

XII.  Cemetery  Records 107 

XIII.  The  Cemetery  Buildings     ...     110 

XIV.  Charges  for  Lots  and  General 

Services    .........     113 

XV.  The  Improvement  of  Old  Ceme- 

teries      119 

XVI.  Cremation 129 

XVII.  Cemetery  Law 137 

XVIII.  Cemetery  Literature    and    the 

A.  A.  C.  S 140 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 

Spring  Grove  Cemetery,  Cincinnati,  Ohio 
Frontispiece 

A  Too  Common  Condition 16 

Cemetery  on  the  Lawn  Plan 16 

Hill  Crest  Park  Cemetery,  Plan  of  .   .  30 

Sections  A  and  B 31 

The  Old  Style  Plan 34 

Topographical  Survey 38 

Arrangement  of  Sections 40 

A  Modern  Cemetery 45 

Artificial  Lakes 52 

Correct  and  Incorrect  Grading     ...  55 

Views  in  Graceland,  Chicago 71 


ILLUSTRATIONS— Continued 


Page 

A  Water  Effect  Is  Always  Pleasing  .   .  84 

A  Mausoleum  Poorly  Designed  ....  88 

A  Mausoleum  Properly  Placed    ....  88 

A  Monument  Badly  Placed 92 

A  Monument  with  Proper  Setting  ...  92 

Natural  Boulder  Monuments 96 

Chapel  and  Waiting' Room     110 

Evolution  of  New  England  Cemetery  .  119 

Park  Scene,  Galt,  Ontario 128 


PREFACE 

If  one  desires  to  take  up  any  special 
line  of  professional  or  other  work,  a 
working  library  or  text-book  can  be  con- 
sulted which  will  give  a  fair  knowledge  of 
at  least  the  theoretical  part  of  the  subject. 
The  greater  number  of  those  at  present 
engaged  in  cemetery  work  have  drifted 
into  this  field  from  other  channels,  and 
their  proficiency  has  been  greatly  delayed 
owing  to  a  lack  of  any  text-books  giving 
information  on  the  construction  and  man- 
agement of  cemeteries.  To  furnish  such 
information  in  a  practical  and  concise 
form,  the  present  work  has  been  prepared. 

The  author  does  not  believe  in  lengthy 
articles  or  large  volumes.  We  place  a 
large  sized  volume  aside,  expecting  to 
read  it  tomorrow,  only  to  find  that  on  the 
morrow  we  have  even  less  time  for  reading 
than  today.  Hence  the  subjects  herein 
treated  have  been  condensed  as  much  as 


S  Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

possible  and  subjects  treated  by  other 
authors  have  been  largely  omitted. 

It  is  hoped  that  this  book  may  aid  in 
the  dissemination  of  knowledge  of  the 
modern  ideas  as  expressed  by  its  title. 
Modern  methods  have  been  brought 
about  by  the  annual  meetings  of  the  lead- 
ing cemetery  oflSicials  in  the  organization 
of  the  Association  of  American  Cemetery 
Superintendents.  The  published  proceed- 
ings of  this  association  and  the  pages  of 
the  monthly  journal,  ^Tark  and  Ceme- 
tery," have  been  freely  used  in  the  prep- 
aration of  this  work. 

Many  of  the  illustrations  are  reproduc- 
tions of  the  author^s  photographs.  Oth- 
ers have  been  furnished  by  various  su- 
perintendents, to  whom  thanks  are  due. 
While  any  book  is  more  or  less  the  ex- 
pression of  the  personal  views  of  the 
author,  in  the  present  work  an  attempt 
has  been  made  to  state  the  facts  in  which 
a  majority  of  cemetery  officials  concur. 
In  many  things,  however,  cemetery  offi- 
cials   do    not    agree.     Local    conditions 


Preface  9 

vary  so  widely  that  the  experience  of 
different  men  in  separate  locaUties  often 
leads  to  directly  opposite  views.  The  man- 
uscript has  been  carefully  reviewed  by 
Wm.  Salway,  Superintendent  of  Spring 
Grove,  Cincinnati;  by  Wm.  Falconer, 
Superintendent  of  Allegheny,  at  Pitts- 
burg; and  by  James  Currie,  Superintend- 
ent of  Forest  Home,  Milwaukee.  To 
them  the  author  is  indebted  for  many 
suggestions  and  kindly  criticisms.  The 
chapter  on  Road  Construction  was  writ- 
ten by  Myron  H.  West  and  contains 
much  new  matter,  the  result  of  his  experi- 
ence as  Superintendent  of  the  Lincoln 
park  system,  Chicago.  Of  special  help 
have  been  the  suggestions  received  from 
the  pubUsher,  R.  J.  Haight. 

It  is  hoped  that  cemetery  officials  may 
find  the  work  useful  in  educating  lot 
owners  to  modern  conditions  in  order 
that  many  of  our  present  cemeteries  may 
be  improved.  We  have  practiced  four- 
teenth century  methods  of  burial  and 
been  hidebound  by  religious  fetish  and 


10  Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

customs  long  enough.  Common  sense 
should  teach  us  that  the  sod  covered 
grave,  marked  only  by  a  single  stone  sunk 
even  with  the  turf,  is  best.  When  prop- 
erly prepared  such  graves  never  become 
unsightly  and  are  cared  for  by  simply 
mowing  the  grass.  SimpHcity  consti- 
tutes the  essential  feature  of  the  modern 
park  cemetery,  for  in  simplicity  lies 
beauty  and  economy. 

H.  E.  W. 
Portland,  Ore.,  April  1,  1912. 


CHAPTER  I 

CEMETERY   HISTORY  AND  BUR- 
IAL CUSTOMS  IN  AMERICA 

The  word  cemetery  means  a  sleeping 
place  and  was  first  applied  to  places  of 
burial  by  the  early  Christians.  The 
ancient  Romans  practiced  cremation, 
earth  burial  becoming  a  practice  on  ac- 
count of  the  Christian  belief  in  the  resur- 
rection of  the  body.  Burial  in  the  early 
times  was  made  in  tombs,  not  connected 
with  the  churches.  Later  persons  prom- 
inent in  ecclesiastical  work  were  buried  in 
or  beneath  the  churches,  and  from  this 
arose  the  practice  of  burying  the  distin- 
guished dead  in  the  churches,  a  custom 
practiced  in  America  until  recent  years. 
An  example  of  this  is  seen  in  the  present 
method  in  England  of  burying  the  dis- 
tinguished dead  in  Westminster  Abbey. 


12         Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

Space  in  the  churches  being  hmited, 
the  practice  of  burial  in  the  churchyard 
became  a  custom  in  order  that  the  dead 
would  rest  as  near  the  sacred  edifice  as 
possible.  Memories  of  the  departed  were 
a  prominent  part  of  the  church  work,  the 
names  on  the  tombstones  being  seen  by 
the  worshippers  at  each  service,  remind- 
ing the  living  of  the  virtues  of  the  dead 
and  man's  mortaUty.  Such  church  grave- 
yards are  today  prominent  landmarks  in 
New  England  cities,  especially  Boston, 
New  York  and  Philadelphia. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  of  these  is 
the  Trinity  Church  graveyard  in  New 
York  City.  This  is  located  on  Broadway, 
just  off  Wall  street,  and  occupies  some  of 
the  most  valuable  land  in  the  world. 
During  the  American  Revolution  thou- 
sands of  soldiers  were  buried  here,  the 
bodies  in  many  cases  being  placed  one  on 
top  of  another.  During  the  summer  of 
1781  the  grade  was  raised  several  feet  by 
hauling  in  earth  in  order  that  the  bodies 
might  not  be  exposed  on  the  surface.   The 


Cemetery  History  13 

oldest  tombstone  bears  date  of  1681, 
although  the  first  Trinity  Church  was  not 
erected  until  1698. 

As  population  increased  the  necessity 
was  seen  of  having  burial  grounds  sepa- 
rated from  the  churches,  in  order  to  get 
them  away  from  the  more  populous  cen- 
ters. The  first  rural  cemetery  of  Amer- 
ica, Mount  Auburn  at  Boston,  was  estab- 
lished in  1831,  and  this  was  followed  soon 
after  by  Laurel  Hill  in  Philadelphia. 
Greenwood  in  New  York  was  established 
in  1840.  By  1860  the  practice  of  church- 
yard burial  was  quite  generally  discon- 
tinued. 

Funeral  and  burial  customs  have  been 
handed  down  since  ancient  times.  No 
one  generation  has  seen  any  decided 
change  in  methods,  although  many  cus- 
toms of  former  times  are  now  no  longer 
practiced.  The  sacrament  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  at  the  grave  was  a  common  prac- 
tice during  the  fourth  century.  Early  in 
the  nineteenth  century  those  attending 
the  funeral  were  given  rings  as  memorials 


14         Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

of  the  dead.  It  was  also  a  common  cus- 
tom to  present  the  mourners  with  white 
leather  gloves.  Later  black  gloves  were 
given  and  still  later  only  the  officiating 
clergyman  was  so  honored,  being  pre- 
sented with  a  pair  of  black  silk  gloves. 
From  this  custom  we  have  the  black 
gloves  now  worn  by  the  pall-bearers. 

Until  recently  it  was  a  common  custom 
to  serve  refreshments  at  the  home  of  the 
deceased  after  the  burial  service  to  all 
attending  the  funeral.  This  custom  still 
holds  in  Ireland  and  in  many  cases  takes 
the  nature  of  a  feast,  the  preparation  and 
serving  of  the  food  and  drink  being  a 
heavy  burden  on  the  relatives  of  the 
deceased.  Formerly  the  body  was  fol- 
lowed to  the  grave  by  practically  all  at- 
tending the  funeral  exercises,  but  in 
recent  years  the  burial  has  become  more 
and  more  private,  concerning  only  the 
immediate  family  and  near  relatives. 

Until  recent  years  it  was  the  custom  to 
toll  the  church  bell  during  the  last  hours 
and  for  some  time  after  death.     This  was 


Cemetery  History  15 

to  keep  away  the  evil  spirits,  thus  giving 
the  departing  soul  a  running  start  that 
the  evil  spirits  might  not  catch  up  with  it. 
Later  the  church  bell  was  only  tolled  after 
death,  but  the  practice  has  now  been  dis- 
continued in  most  localities. 

Because  the  early  Christians  believed 
in  the  resurrection  of  the  body,  the  body 
was  laid  in  the  grave  in  an  east  and  west 
direction,  with  the  head  to  the  west. 
The  custom  originated  in  order  that  the 
spirit  might  face  the  rising  sun  on  resur- 
rection morn.  This  has  been  a  general 
practice  until  recent  years,  but  is  now 
passing.  In  all  modern  cemeteries  no 
attention  is  paid  to  orientation,  the 
graves  being  placed  on  the  lot  so  as  to 
make  the  best  use  of  the  space. 

Coffins  have  been  used  since  ancient 
times,  the  record  of  Joseph  being,  ^'fchey 
embalmed  him  and  he  was  put  in  a  coffin 
in  Egypt.''  In  England  since  the  six- 
teenth century  the  distinguished  dead 
have  been  buried  in  coffins;  the  poor  were 
buried  in  a  winding  sheet,  a  coffin  being 


16  Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

used  only  to  carry  the  body  to  the  grave. 
Coffin  burial  with  the  English-speaking 
people,  however,  has  been  practically 
universal  for  the  past  century.  The 
orthodox  Jews  do  not  today  use  coffins 
for  burial. 

The  present  practice  of  keeping  the 
body  for  several  days  after  death,  comes 
from  an  early  custom  of  allowing  three 
days  for  the  departure  of  the  spirit.  We 
are  told  that  when  the  sisters  visited  the 
tomb  of  Christ  to  anoint  the  body  on 
the  third  day,  as  was  the  custom,  they 
found  the  door  of  the  sepulcher  open  and 
the  body  gone.  In  Germany  the  body  is 
placed  in  open  or  ventilated  buildings  for 
several  days  before  burial.  In  Sweden 
the  body  is  removed  to  an  open  shed  as 
soon  as  death  occurs.  All  of  these  prac- 
tices carry  out  the  ancient  belief  of  giving 
time  and  method  for  the  escape  of  the 
spirit. 

The  practice  of  sitting  up  with  the 
corpse  is  no  longer  considered  necessary, 
although  still  in  vogue  in  many  localities. 


o 


>      >   1,    >    > 


Cemetery  History  17 

The  'Vake"  is  still  observed  to  some 
extent,  but  rarely  with  the  ceremonial  of 
former  years.  The  object  of  the  wake 
seems  to  have  been  to  keep  the  family 
from  grieving  over  their  loss. 


CHAPTER  II 

ORGANIZATION  AND  OWNERSHIP 
OF  CEMETERIES 

Settlers  ia  a  aew  locality  seldom  make 
provisions  for  the  burial  of  their  dead. 
This  is  doubtless  largely  due  to  the  uncer- 
tainty of  their  permanency.  When  the 
first  deaths  occur  burial  is  made  at  any 
convenient  place  near  the  settlement, 
without  reference  to  the  establishment  of 
a  cemetery  at  this  location.  Other  bur- 
ials, however,  take  place  from  time  to 
time  and  if  the  settlement  becomes  a  vil- 
lage or  city,  the  burial  ground  soon 
assumes  the  proportions  of  a  cemetery. 
Should  the  settlement  remain  simply  a 
settlement,  the  place  of  burial  remains  as 
the  small  country  burying  ground.  Such 
places  are  invariably  neglected  and  can 
hardly  be  dignified  by  the  name  of  ceme- 
teries.    Marked  by  a  few  toppling  mon- 


Organization  and  Ownership       19 

uments  among  the  tall  grass,  they  are 
memorials  not  to  the  dead  but  to  neglect 
by  the  living.  Such  burial  places  are 
common  sights  in  America  and  empha- 
size the  need  of  the  organization  of  cem- 
etery associations  in  rural  communities. 

With  a  scattered  population  it  is  best 
to  bury  the  dead  in  the  adjoining  village 
cemeteries,  thus  doing  away  with  the 
small  and  isolated  graveyards.  If,  how- 
ever, no  village  cemetery  is  within  con- 
venient distance,  a  cemetery  corporation 
should  be  organized  and  a  rural  cemetery 
established.  The  donation  of  a  proper 
site  can  generally  be  obtained  and  a  small 
working  capital  established  by  the  sale 
of  lots  to  the  incorporators.  If  the  gen- 
eral ideas  expressed  in  the  present  volume 
are  carried  out,  there  is  no  reason  why 
the  rural  cemetery  should  not  be  success- 
fully conducted. 

Perhaps  the  greater  number  of  ceme- 
teries of  America  are  owned  by  the  small 
cities.  These  have  been  the  logical 
development  of    the    settlement    burial 


20  Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

ground.  Management  is  vested  in  a 
committee  of  the  city  councils,  and  all  fees 
are  collected  and  permits  issued  by  the 
city  clerk.  The  superintendent  is  se- 
lected because  of  his  general  fitness  and 
good  character.  His  remuneration  is 
usually  governed  by  the  conditions  of  the 
locahty  in  which  the  cemetery  is  situated. 
He  is  frequently  found  to  act  as  grave- 
digger,  superintendent,  secretary,  land- 
scape gardener,  and  the  entire  working 
force  of  the  small  cemetery.  These 
superintendents  are,  as  a  rule,  faithful 
workers,  but  as  they  have  only  a  scant 
appropriation  to  work  with  from  year  to 
year,  however  much  they  may  realize 
the  need  of  the  cemeteries  under  their 
charge,  they  are  seldom  able  to  properly 
care  for  them  owing  to  the  lack  of  finan- 
cial support. 

Such  city  cemeteries  can  be  bettered  by 
an  increased  appropriation  and  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  cemetery  board,  say  of 
three  members,  irrespective  of  member- 
ship in  the  city  council;  the  appointments 


Organization  and  Ownership       21 

so  arranged  that  only  one  member  retires 
or  is  reappointed  each  year.  With  such 
a  board  there  can  be  no  radical  changes  of 
management,  which  means  continuity  of 
work.  In  many  cities  it  is  advantageous 
to  have  the  cemetery  board  and  the  park 
board  as  one  and  the  same.  In  such  cases 
it  may  be  well  to  have  a  board  of  five 
members.  With  most  of  the  cemeteries 
of  the  smaller  cities  there  is  a  great  need 
of  education  among  the  lot  owners  in 
order  that  there  may  be  more  simplicity 
in  the  care  and  management  of  the 
grounds,  for  this  means  more  beauty  and 
more  economy  in  the  care  of  the  lots.  In 
many  small  cities  lots  are  given  away  or 
sold  at  only  a  nominal  price,  seemingly 
under  the  belief  that  each  citizen  is 
entitled  to  a  3  by  6  feet  of  Mother  Earth. 
A  suggested  remedy  is  to  charge  more  for 
the  lots,  have  all  fees  go  into  the  cemetery 
fund,  together  with  an  additional  appro- 
priation from  year  to  year. 

Where  the  ownership  of  cemeteries  is 
vested  in  an  association  of  lot  owners  and 


22  Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

governed  by  a  board  of  trustees  who  serve 
without  remuneration,  the  results  are 
usually  more  satisfactory  than  when 
under  county,  township  or  municipal 
control.  Where  the  trustees  have  estab- 
Ushed  a  perpetual  care  fund,  such  owner- 
ship by  an  association  of  lot  owners  is 
generally  considered  ideal. 

Other  cemeteries  have  been  established 
and  are  under  the  control  of  a  corporation 
not  for  profit.  This  arrangement  is  apt 
to  result  in  a  better  cemetery  than  those 
previouslj/  mentioned,. for  the  reason  that 
a  higher  price  is  obtained  for  lots,  out  of 
which  a  part  is  set  aside  for  a  perpetual 
care  fund.  In  many  cases  the  superin- 
tendent has  full  charge,  keeps  all  records, 
collects  all  fees  and  reports  to  the  corpo- 
ration at  stated  meetings.  With  the 
larger  cemeteries  under  this  management, 
the  superintendent  has  charge  of  the 
grounds  only,  the  business  management 
being  in  charge  of  a  secretary  or  treasurer. 

The  greater  number  of  the  new  ceme- 
teries established  in  recent  years  near  the 


Organization  and  Ownership       23 

larger  cities,  however,  are  owned  by  cor- 
porations for  profit.  It  is  also  quite 
probable  that  a  majority  of  all  future 
cemeteries  will  be  estabhshed  by  such 
corporation  ownership.  At  first  thought 
such  ownership,  the  making  of  money  out 
of  the  burial  of  the  dead,  may  offend  our 
feeling  of  propriety,  but  the  fact  remains 
that  such  cemeteries  are  successful  be- 
cause estabhshed  and  cared  for  on  busi- 
ness principles. 

Rightly  managed  there  is  every  reason 
why  such  corporations  should  be  success- 
ful. They  should  be  close  corporations, 
however,  with  no  stock  or  bonds  for  sale 
to  the  pubhc.  A  cemetery  corporation  is 
in  no  sense  a  get-rich-quick  scheme.  The 
stock  cannot  be  made  to  pay  dividends 
for  many  years  and  should  thus  be  looked 
upon  as  a  good  investment  in  the  nature 
of  fife  insurance,  rather  than  for  any 
quick  returns.  We  cannot  too  strongly 
condemn  the  organization  of  cemetery 
corporations  for  profit  where  the  incor- 
porators resort  to  quick  returns  either  by 


24         Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

the  sale  of  lots  at  auction  or  by  the  sale 
of  stock  to  the  public.  The  incorporators 
who  will  do  this  are  simply  getting  out 
from  under,  leaving  the  purchasers  to 
hold  the  empty  bag.  The  incorporators 
should  in  all  cases  estabhsh  a  proper  per- 
petual care  fund  by  the  setting  aside  of  a 
certain  percentage  of  the  purchase  price 
of  each  lot  for  such  purpose. 

A  few  cemeteries  are  owned  by  various 
fraternal  orders  and  religious  denomina- 
tions. The  CathoHc  Church  conducts  its 
own  cemeteries,  some  of  which  are  mod- 
ern and  park-like. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE   PROPER   LOCATION   FOR   A 
CEMETERY 

A  mistake  in  the  location  of  a  cemetery 
can  never  be  remedied.  In  former  years 
a  common  mistake  was  made  in  selecting 
a  site  too  near  the  center  of  population, 
often  requiring  the  removal  of  the  dead 
a  few  years  later  in  order  to  make  room 
for  the  Hving.  It  is  also  quite  possible  to 
have  the  site  too  far  away  from  the  city,  as 
this  means  added  expense  on  the  part  of 
all  in  getting  to  and  from  it.  In  the 
selection  of  a  site,  provision  must  be  made 
for  the  future  growth  of  population.  Ac- 
cessibiUty  is  a  very  important  item  and  a 
location  upon  or  immediately  adjoining  a 
car  hne  is  very  desirable.  The  condition 
of  the  approach  driveway  is  also  an  im- 
portant consideration,  for  if  this  has  to  be 
either  constructed  or  kept  in  repair  out 


26         Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

of  the  cemetery  funds,  it  means  so  much 
less  money  available  for  cemetery  pur- 
poses. 

Land  of  gently  roUing  character  is  best. 
Such  land  lends  itself  admirably  to  the 
best  landscape  effects,  with  the  gently 
curved  drives  winding  around  the  elevat- 
ed sections.  Flat  land  is  undesirable  both 
on  account  of  poor  drainage  and  poor 
landscape  effects.  There  is  a  sameness 
about  flat  land  which  cannot  be  fully 
overcome  by  landscape  planting.  Ex- 
tremely hilly  sites  are  equally  bad,  requir- 
ing added  expense  in  grading  and  in  the 
making  of  the  drives  and  their  constant 
repair. 

The  best  soil  is  that  of  a  sandy  loam. 
Such  soil  is  easily  handled  in  grave  dig- 
ging, it  practically  drains  itself,  and  it  will 
be  rich  enough  for  the  estabhshment  of  a 
fine  lawn.  If  the  soil  is  too  sandy  it  will 
cost  thousands  of  dollars  to  put  on  a  top 
dressing  of  good  soil  for  the  estabhsh- 
ment of  a  greensward,  and  a  cemetery 
without  green  grass  in  profusion  is  a 


Proper  Location  27 

desolate  place,  indeed.  There  is  nothing 
more  restful  and  inviting  to  the  eye  than 
green  grass,  and  It  is  the  most  important 
item  in  the  making  of  a  beautiful  ceme- 
tery. A  clay  soil  will  increase  the  cost  of 
grave  digging,  cannot  be  well  drained  and 
retards  decay.  A  soil  with  a  stony 
stratum  near  the  surface  is  absolutely 
unfit.  The  subsoil  is  a  very  important 
factor,  the  ideal  subsoil  being  of  a  sandy 
or  gravelly  nature. 

Too  much  care  cannot  be  taken  in  the 
selection  of  a  proper  site,  and  in  such 
selection  some  one  with  cemetery  experi- 
ence should  be  consulted.  Where  sev- 
eral sites  are  available  it  would  be  admi- 
rable to  have  the  joint  opinion  of  several 
cemetery  experts.  Too  often  land  is 
selected  because  of  being  donated  for  the 
purpose,  or  because  the  owner  is  wilUng 
to  take  stock  in  the  cemetery  corporation, 
in  full  or  part  payment.  Land  not  suited 
for  cemetery  purposes  should  not  be  con- 
sidered at  all,  for  the  saving  at  the  start 
will  prove  a  great  expense  in  the  end.     It 


28         Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

is  not  always  possible,  however,  to  obtain 
an  ideal  site,  and  in  such  cases  all  that  can 
be  done  is  to  choose  the  lesser  evil  by 
selecting  the  best  site  that  circumstances 
will  allow. 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE  CEMETERY  PLAN 

The  history  of  the  cemetery  plan  shows 
an  interesting  evolution.  The  church 
graveyards  had  no  plans,  each  family 
being  given  space  as  needed.  Such  space 
in  most  cases  was  fenced  off  into  lots,  each 
lot  having  a  walk  on  all  sides.  When  the 
cemeteries  were  separated  from  the 
churchyards,  some  sort  of  a  plan  of  the 
lots  was  prepared  and  the  lots  numbered. 
Lots  were  mostly  of  a  uniform  size,  with 
a  walk  on  all  sides:  16  by  16  and  20  by  20 
were  favorite-sized  lots,  the  last  named 
being  known  as  a  full-sized  lot,  which  was 
easily  divided  into  two  10  by  20  lots.  A 
favorite  arrangement  was  the  one  shown 
in  the  accompanying  plan,  but  this  plan 
is  now  rarely  followed. 

But  with  such  an  arrangement  there 
is  a  great  waste  of  burial  space  taken  up 


30 


Modern  Park  Cemeteries 


The  Cemetery  Plan 


31 


,     II  ^  °  -  ^  "    - 


32         Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

by  the  walks,  and  later  plans  called  for 
walks  on  only  two  sides  of  each  lot.  This 
arrangement  has  also  been  rarely  followed 
in  recent  years. 

The  greater  number  of  the  first  ceme- 
teries of  America  were  laid  out  on  plans 
similar  to  the  above.  The  walks  and 
drives  ran  according  to  the  points  of  the 
compass  and  burial  was  always  made  east 
and  west,  the  head  to  the  west.  The 
laying  out  of  such  cemeteries  was  intrust- 
ed to  civil  engineers  and  it  is  to  be  regret- 
ted that  the  members  of  this  profession 
were  only  able  to  see  lines  which  ran 
north,  east,  south  or  west.  If  a  curved 
line  was  ever  necessary,  it  was  made  an 
exact  circle,  radiating  from  a  given  center. 

During  recent  years,  however,  most 
cemetery  plans  have  been  made  by  land- 
scape architects  who  have  made  a  special 
study  of  cemetery  needs.  The  results 
have  been  pleasing  landscape  effects, 
beautiful  curved  drives  which  divide  the 
cemetery  into  sections,  and  large  and 
small  lots  suited  to  the  needs  of  various 


The  Cemetery  Plan  33 

lot  owners.  A  curved  drive  is  always 
more  pleasing  than  a  straight  road.  In 
the  curved  drive  we  have  an  ever-chang- 
ing view  presented  to  the  eye,  while  a 
straight  road  gives  a  sameness  through- 
out. On  a  curved  drive,  if  the  view  ahead 
is  shut  off  by  a  planting  of  trees  and 
shrubs,  there  is  a  desire  upon  our  part  to 
go  on  beyond  the  curve  in  order  to  see 
the  new  scene  which  will  be  offered  to  us. 

In  all  recent  plans,  each  lot  faces  only 
one  walk.  This  has  proved  of  great 
economy  as  it  allows  more  burial  space 
in  a  given  area  and  there  is  thus  less 
waste.  Some  have  even  advocated  leav- 
ing out  the  walks  entirely,  but  this  is  not 
considered  advisable.  In  reahty  the 
walks  are  not  generally  used  in  getting 
to  the  lots,  but  by  having  each  lot  face  on 
a  walk,  each  lot  owner  may  at  least  feel 
that  he  can  get  to  his  lot  without  trespass. 

Except  where  the  land  is  practically 
level,  the  first  requisite  for  a  cemetery 
plan  is  a  topographical  survey.  This  will 
show  the  contour  and  give  the  data  of 


34 


Modern  Park  Cemeteries 


elevation  in  all  portions  of  the  grounds. 
From  such  survey  a  study  of  the  condi- 
tions is  made  and  a  general  scheme  of  the 


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THE  OLD  STYLE  PLAN  OF  LAYING  OUT  A  CEMETERY 
Contrast  it  with  the  plan  of  Hillcrest  Cemetery 

section  divisions  evolved.  The  drives 
are  made  to  follow  the  naturally  lower 
levels,  so  that  the  drainage  may  be  away 
from  the  lots. 


The  Cemetery  Plan  35 

The  drives  should  radiate  from  or  near 
the  entrance,  curve  around  the  elevations 
in  the  outlinings  of  sections,  and  be  so 
arranged  that  one  may  get  to  each  section 
as  directly  as  possible.  It  is  often  advis- 
able to  have  the  main  drive  lead  into  the 
grounds  for  some  distance  from  the  gate, 
before  diverging  or  losing  itself  as  a  main 
drive  in  the  several  drives  around  the 
sections.  The  drives  should  practically 
always  curve,  and  yet  lead  in  a  natural 
manner  to  the  points  to  be  reached.  The 
curves  in  the  drives  should  be  long  and 
gentle,  the  road  seeming  to  disappear  in 
the  distance. 

Circles  should  be  avoided  on  account  of 
their  stiff  and  formal  appearance.  Nat- 
ural features  such  as  lakes,  creeks  and 
trees  should  be  taken  into  consideration 
in  planning  the  drives.  Some  of  these 
may  greatly  enhance  the  landscape  beauty 
and  cause  the  drive  as  laid  out  on  the 
ground  to  be  sHghtly  different  from  that 
made  on  the  prehminary  plan.  In  case 
there  should  be  anything  on  the  ground 


36  Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

not  taken  into  consideration  in  the  mak- 
ing of  such  prehminary  plan  of  the  drives, 
the  details  of  the  plan  should  be  changed 
accordingly. 

The  width  of  the  drives  will  depend 
upon  the  amount  of  traffic  upon  them. 
Twenty  feet  is  a  good  average,  but  the 
entrance  driveway  should  be  at  least 
thirty  feet  wide.  If  possible,  the  drives 
should  not  exceed  a  five  or  six  per  cent 
grade. 

The  size  of  the  sections  will  vary  ac- 
cording to  the  topography,  no  two  being 
alike.  Except  where  conditions  make  it 
unavoidable,  sections  should  not  exceed 
300  feet  in  width,  thus  making  every  lot 
within  150  feet  of  a  drive.  It  is  also 
desirable  that  the  sections  should  not  be 
less  than  200  feet  in  width,  for  the  drives 
would  then  come  too  close  to  each  other. 
The  length  of  the  sections,  however,  does 
not  matter,  varying  from  600  to  1200 
feet.  The  lots  along  the  boundary  lines 
may  be  divided  into  convenient  sections 
by  grass  walks  ten  feet  wide.     This  space 


The  Cemetery  Plan  37 

will  form  convenient  planting  space  for 
shrubs  and  trees.  Such  boundary  sec- 
tions, having  a  drive  only  on  one  side  are 
treated  as  one-half  the  width  of  the  other 
sections,  being  from  100  to  150  feet  in 
width. 

As  the  entrance  to  a  cemetery  is  an 
important  consideration,  no  lots  should 
be  laid  out  within  several  hundred  feet 
of  the  entrance,  this  space  being  all  needed 
for  lawn  and  shrubbery  to  produce  a 
pleasing  first  impression  upon  visitors 
and  lot  owners.  No  lots  should  be  laid 
out  within  ten  feet  of  the  boundary  Une, 
this  space  being  needed  for  landscape 
effects. 

In  the  division  of  a  cemetery  into  lots, 
no  hard  and  fast  rules  are  advisable. 
Conditions  vary  in  different  locahties,  but 
every  cemetery  should  have  both  large 
and  small  lots.  As  a  rule  the  large  lots 
should  be  next  the  drives,  but  in  case  of  a 
narrow  section  considerably  elevated  in 
the  center,  the  large  lots  may  well  be 
placed  in  the  center  of  the  section. 


The  Cemetery  Plan  39 

The  lots  near  the  drive  should  be  as 
large  as  can  be  disposed  of,  and  never 
less  than  twenty  feet  in  depth,  preferably 
thirty.  This  is  in  order  to  avoid  having 
the  monuments  too  near  to  the  drive. 
As  a  rule  the  lots  farthest  from  a  drive 
should  be  the  smallest.  In  case  every 
lot  is  to  have  a  monument  erected  upon 
it,  a  uniformity  of  size  is  perhaps  desir- 
able. But  as  one  monument  can  only 
appear  to  advantage  when  widely  sepa- 
rated from  others,  a  good  arrangement  is 
to  have  small  lots  next  to  the  large  lots, 
the  deed  to  the  small  lots  prohibiting  the 
erection  of  monuments  thereon.  With 
such  an  arrangement  the  monuments  will 
appear  at  their  best. 

W.  N.  Rudd,  in  speaking  of  his  expe- 
rience at  Mount  Greenwood,  Chicago, 
states:  'The  main  depth  of  the  front  lot 
is  twenty  feet.  This  with  the  planting 
space  of  two  feet  gives  a  depth  to  the 
back  of  the  lot  of  22  feet,  and  if  the  mon- 
ument is  placed  within  a  foot  or  so  of  the 
back  of  the  lot,  and  the  lots  on  the  other 


The  Cemetery  Plan  41 

side  of  the  drive  treated  in  a  similar  way, 
an  open  stretch  of  ground  50  feet  or  more, 
including  the  drive,  is  preserved  unob- 
structed by  monumental  structures.  Ad- 
joining the  front  lot  and  extending  back 
to  a  four-foot  walk  parallel  with  the 
drive,  should  be  another  lot  shallower  than 
the  first  lot  perhaps,  or  of  equal  depth. 
The  minimum  depth,  however,  of  any 
lot  should  not  be  less  than  17  feet.  This 
gives  space  for  two  tiers  of  graves  with 
their  headstones,  16  feet,  and  six  inches 
between  the  borders  of  the  lot  and  the 
end  of  the  graves,  which  should  be  the 
minimum  allowance,  one  foot,  of  course, 
being  better.'^ 

While  it  is  a  common  practice,  as 
already  explained,  to  have  each  lot  face  a 
walk,  this  walk  should  not  be  more  than 
three  feet  wide.  While  most  walks  are 
made  parallel  with  the  drives  there  should 
be  some  walks  running  the  entire  width 
of  the  sections  placed  at  right  angles  to 
the  drives. 

The  ideal  section  will  have  both  large 


42  Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

and  small  lots  suited  to  the  needs  and 
means  of  different  lot  owners.  In  such 
a  case,  only  one  or  two  sections  of  a  cem- 
etery need  to  be  opened  at  first,  the  bal- 
ance being  fenced  off  and  used  for  pas- 
ture, meadow  or  farm  purposes;  such  an 
arrangement  accomplishes  considerable 
economy.  As  the  lots  are  sold,  new  sec- 
tions may  be  opened.  It  is  not  always 
possible  to  have  this  arrangement  of  lots, 
however.  Low,  flat  land  may  have  to  be 
given  up  to  all  cheap  lots,  while  a  specially 
prominent  section  may  best  be  made  into 
large  and  costly  lots.  A  space  of  two  feet 
should  be  left  between  the  drive  and  the 
lots,  this  being  needed  for  drainage, 
water  pipes  and  ornamental  planting. 
With  the  large  lots  it  is  not  important 
to  divide  the  space  with  reference  to  their 
division  into  grave  space.  But  with  the 
smaller  lots  this  is  an  important  consider- 
ation and  they  should  provide  for  a  given 
number  of  graves  to  each  lot.  Allowing 
three  by  six  for  grave  space,  two  feet  for 
markers,  and  a  six-inch  margin  at   the 


The  Cemetery  Plan  43 

border  of  a  lot,  a  six  grave  lot  would  be 
nine  by  seventeen,  such  small  lots,  of 
course,  not  allowing  for  monuments.  In 
fact,  no  monuments  should  be  allowed  on 
lots  less  than  14  by  20,  containing  280 
square  feet,  a  space  for  eight  full-sized 
graves  and  a  monument.  The  family 
which  cannot  afford  the  purchase  of  a  lot 
of  this  size  certainly  cannot  afford  a  mon- 
ument. 

The  single  grave  section  should  be  pro- 
vided for  in  the  plan.  This  is  perhaps 
best  located  at  one  side  of  the  grounds. 
The  graves  should  be  laid  out  in  rows, 
making  as  much  use  of  the  space  as  pos- 
sible. 

The  location  of  the  receiving  tomb,  ser- 
vice buildings,  and  the  like  must  receive 
attention  in  the  making  of  the  cemetery 
plan.  The  proper  location  of  a  receiving 
vault  will  vary  with  circumstances,  but 
it  should  be  as  near  the  entrance  as  pos- 
sible, conditions  and  landscape  effects 
being  duly  considered.  The  service  build- 
ings should  be  conveniently  located,  yet 


44         Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

not  made  prominent  by  being  too  near 
the  entrance.  The  chapel  may  be  located 
near  the  entrance,  or  near  the  center  of 
the  grounds  as  conditions  may  determine. 
The  office  should  be  located  directly  at 
the  entrance. 


S   T3 

^   3 

2 

§     S 

2| 


CHAPTER  V 
GENERAL  CONSTRUCTION  WORK 

A  cemetery  should  be  properly  laid  out 
before  any  burials  are  permitted;  a  com- 
mon mistake  is  that  of  allowing  burials 
before  the  grounds  are  completed  and 
ready  for  such  purpose.  Perhaps  the 
first  item  of  importance  is  the  general 
grading.  In  some  cases  little  grading 
will  be  necessary,  while  in  others  much 
will  have  to  be  done.  Steep  slopes 
should  be  cut  down,  the  aim  being  to  have 
only  gentle  elevations.  The  top  of  sharp 
hills  may  best  be  cut  down  and  the  low 
places  filled.  The  general  grading,  how- 
ever, is  such  a  local  problem  that  only 
general  directions  can  be  given  for  this 
work.  The  important  fact  is  that  all 
grading  is  best  done  as  the  first  start  in 
construction  work. 


46         Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

A  mistake  is  often  made  in  having  too 
much  survey  work  at  the  beginning,  for 
when  a  cross  section  survey  is  made  it  is 
desirable  to  leave  all  stakes  in  place  until 
after  the  lot  markers  are  set.  But  these 
survey  stakes  are  always  in  the  way  in 
grading  operations,  and  on  this  account 
it  is  desirable  to  do  all  the  rough  grading 
before  the  cross  section  survey  stakes  are 
set  in  place.  Then  the  survey  stakes  will 
prove  an  aid  in  setting  the  lot  markers 
correctly  and  readily. 

The  making  of  a  good  lawn  is  of  first 
consideration  and  it  should  not  be  ex- 
pected that  a  good  turf  will  be  produced 
on  a  poor  soil.  The  more  experienced 
one  is  in  the  making  of  lawns,  the  more 
careful  will  he  be  in  seeing  that  a  proper 
foundation  is  laid  for  the  sowing  of  the 
grass  seed.  Experience  teaches  that  to 
sow  the  seed  on  a  poorly  prepared  soil, 
is  simply  time  and  seed  wasted.  Labor 
spent  in  getting  the  soil  in  the  proper 
condition  is  economy,  and  it  is  even  better 
to  delay  the  seeding  for  six  months  or  even 


General  Construction  Work      47 

a  year  than  to  waste  the  seed  in  a  poorly 
prepared  seedbed.  ^'If  a  thing  is  worth 
doing  at  all,  it  is  worth  doing  well/' 
applies  with  special  force  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  ground  for  sowing  grass  seed. 

It  will  be  generally  best  to  plow  the 
entire  surface  and  do  any  general  or 
rough  grading  with  scrapers.  The  sur- 
face must  then  be  gone  over  with  iron 
hand  rakes  to  put  the  soil  in  the  best  pos- 
sible condition  for  seed  sowing.  Many 
do  not  realize  the  importance  of  saving 
all  top  soil  in  grading  operations.  As  a 
rule  the  soil  on  cemetery  grounds  is  lack- 
ing in  fertility,  and  if  the  original  top  soil 
is  covered  during  the  grading  operations, 
other  top  soil  will  have  to  be  hauled  from 
a  distance  for  a  top  dressing  after  the 
final  grading.  It  is  thus  important  to 
first  put  all  top  soil  into  convenient  piles 
when  any  extensive  grading  is  to  be  done, 
so  that  this  top  soil  can  be  distributed  as 
top  dressing  later.  In  case  of  a  sandy 
soil,  a  top  dressing  of  two  inches  of  good 
loam  will  be  needed.     Commercial  fer- 


48         Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

tilizers  will  aid,  as  will  also  stable  manure. 
The  latter  is  best  applied  in  autumn,  left 
on  during  the  winter,  and  the  coarser 
part  raked  off  late  in  the  spring. 

A  common  mistake  in  sowing  grass 
seed  is  so-called  economy  in  the  amount 
sown.  Never  sow  less  than  70  pounds  to 
the  acre  J  125  pounds  being  far  preferable 
for  any  quick  results.  Sow  one-half  the 
amount  in  walking  one  way  and  the  other 
half  in  walking  at  right  angles  to  the  first 
sowing.  Do  not  sow  in  windy  weather 
and  keep  the  hand  low.  Rake  the  seed 
in  and  roll  well.  Seed  buried  too  deep 
will  not  germinate,  and  any  exposed  to  the 
sun  will  be  scorched  or  blown  away.  The 
best  time  for  sowing  is  from  the  middle  of 
March  to  the  first  of  May^  and  from  the 
middle  of  August  to  the  middle  of  Sep- 
tember. 

The  best  mixture  for  different  soils  will 
depend  upon  local  conditions.  Local 
seedsmen  generally  have  special  mixtures, 
and  if  these  dealers  are  reliable,  it  is  per- 
haps best  to  depend  upon  such  mixtures 
for  general  purposes.     It  should  be  re- 


General  Construction  Work      49 

membered,  however,  that  grass  seed  is 
more  commonly  adulterated  than  any 
other  seed,  hence  the  importance  of  get- 
ting the  most  rehable  seed,  no  matter  at 
what  cost. 

The  following  is  a  good  combination 
for  either  light  or  heavy  soils: 

20  pounds  Kentucky  Bluegrass. 

20  pounds  Rhode  Island  Bent. 

20  pounds  Red  Top. 

10  pounds  White  Clover. 

70  pounds  per  acre. 

For  sandy  soils  the  problem  is  more 
difficult  and  it  would  be  well  to  experi- 
ment with  a  variety  of  grasses  in  a  small 
way  to  ascertain  the  proper  combination 
which  will  be  most  successful.  Any  mix- 
ture for  sandy  soils  should  contain  some 
of  the  following: 

Agrostis  stolonifera. 

Agrostis  canina. 

Festuca  rubra. 

Poa  pratensis. 

Trifolium  repens. 

TrifoHum  pratense. 


50  Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

The  last  two  are  clovers  and  should  be 
used  at  the  rate  of  about  one-fourth  of 
the  amount  of  the  others.  With  ex- 
tremely sandy  soils  the  addition  of  Egyp- 
tian Clover  {Trijolium  Alexandrinum) ^ 
Sand  Lucerne  (Medicago  media)  y  and 
Winter  Vetch  {Vicia  villosa)  will  greatly 
aid  in  building  up  a  proper  tilth. 

The  general  landscape  effects  of  a 
cemetery  can  be  gi^eatly  enhanced  by  the 
making  of  an  artificial  lake,  provided  a 
natural  low  place  occurs  on  the  grounds 
where  such  a  lake  would  appear  as  a 
natural  feature.  In  the  construction  of 
such  a  lake  we  should  follow  nature's 
example  by  making  the  borders  with  an 
irregular  shore  line.  A  round  or  oval 
lake  without  shrubs  along  its  borders  al- 
ways looks  stiff  and  will  show  at  once  its 
artificial  character.  But  the  same  exca- 
vation, made  with  an  irregular  shore  line 
and  planted  in  places  with  shrubs,  will 
make  a  most  pleasing  natural  effect. 

Compare  the  two  plans  shown  in  the 
accompanying  illustration  to  see  the  vast 


General  Construction  Work       51 

difference  between  the  regular  and  ir- 
regular shore  line.  The  lake  with  the 
regular  shore  line  will  look  small  because 
we  see  it  all  from  any  viewpoint.  The 
lake  with  the  irregular  shore  Une  will 
look  large  because  only  a  part  of  the 
water  effect  is  visible  from  any  point 
along  the  shore.  This  last  not  only  cre- 
ates more  natural  beauty  but  makes  the 
lake  appear  much  larger  than  would  oth- 
erwise be  the  case. 

In  all  modern  cemeteries  the  lot  mark- 
ers are  furnished  and  set  by  the  cemetery 
and  not  the  lot  owners.  In  marking  out 
the  lots  temporary  wooden  stakes  are 
first  driven  in  the  ground,  and  after  this  is 
completed  for  a  section,  the  permanent 
markers  should  be  put  in  place,  the  top  of 
the  markers  being  even  with  the  surface 
of  the  ground.  The  old  method  of  having 
such  work  done  by  the  lot  owner  is  poor 
economy,  involving  additional  expense. 
It  is  much  the  better  plan  to  have  the 
price  of  the  lots  include  the  cost  of  the 
lot  markers. 


General  Construction  Work       53 

The  markers  may  be  of  several  ma- 
terials. White-topped  terra-cotta  mark- 
ers may  be  purchased  at  small  expense 
from  several  manufacturers.  They  can 
also  be  made  of  concrete  with  ordinary 
labor,  and  any  carpenter  will  be  able  to 
make  the  form  for  such  a  purpose.  The 
lettering  and  numbering  is  done  by  sim- 
ply pressing  the  proper  combination  into 
the  top  of  the  mould.  The  cost  of  con- 
crete markers  for  material  and  labor 
should  not  exceed  fifty  cents  each.  To 
enable  the  lot  owners  to  readily  locate 
their  lots,  the  markers  next  the  drive 
should  have  both  the  section  letter,  or 
number,  and  the  lot  number  marked  upon 
them.  The  markers  should  be  six  by  six 
inches  square  on  top  and  eighteen  inches 
in  depth. 


CHAPTER  VI 

ROAD  CONSTRUCTION 

Road  making  in  cemeteries  is  a  subject 
which  demands  no  small  amount  of 
thought  and  expense.  The  roads  of  a 
cemetery  are  a  very  important  factor  in 
its  utility  and  attractiveness,  and  should 
be  so  constructed  as  to  not  only  conform 
to  the  rules  of  landscape  design,  but  to  be 
correct  from  an  engineering  standpoint, 
and  to  meet  the  local  conditions  prevail- 
ing. 

From  the  landscape  point  of  view  roads 
should  be  inconspicuous  and  of  a  color 
pleasing  to  the  eye.  The  curves  and 
grades  should  be  carefully  studied,  and 
should  change  at  some  definite  object. 
Curbs,  and  in  many  cases  gutters,  may  be 
discarded  to  advantage,  the  surface  water 
being  allowed  to  collect  in  shallow  grassed 
valleys  in  which    catch-basins   may    be 


Road  Construction 


55 


located.  Great  care  should  be  exercised 
in  producing  a  nicety  of  contour  in  grades 
leading  away  from  the  road,  to  avoid 
terraced  effects  or  broken  crude  slopes. 
In  many  cases  it  is  best  to  carry  the  slope 
away  on  a  tangent  to  the  cross  section  of 
the  road,  reversing  the  curve  gently  and 
with  long  sweeping  hues. 


INCORRECT  CONSTRUCTION  AND  GRADING 


CORRECT  CONSTRUCTION  AND  GRADING 

Drainage. 

Drainage  is  in  a  majority  of  instances 
indispensable  to  proper  maintenance. 
The  expense  of  instaUing  a  drainage  sys- 
tem is  shght,  and  the  cost  of  maintenance 


56  Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

practically  negligible.  Probably  the  best 
method  is  to  lay  a  line  of  land  tiles  on 
each  side  of  the  road  at  a  depth  of  from 
two  and  a  haK  to  three  feet,  installing 
at  intervals  of  three  or  four  hundred  feet, 
silt  basins  set  with  their  covers  six  inches 
below  the  ground  surface  and  carefully 
located  so  that  they  may  be  uncovered 
and  cleaned  at  periods  of  two  or  three 
years. 

Earth  Roads. 

The  earth  road  is  the  cheapest  as  re- 
gards first  cost  but  in  general  it  is  ill  suited 
for  cemetery  purposes.  One  of  the  chief 
objections  being  due  to  the  fact  that  dur- 
ing the  rainy  weather  or  while  the  frost 
is  leaving  the  ground  in  the  spring  it  is 
apt  to  become  well-nigh  impassable  on 
account  of  mud.  Nothing  so  detracts 
from  the  appearance  of  a  cemetery  as  a 
muddy,  rutted  driveway,  and  where  pos- 
sible a  pavement  should  be  substituted, 
which  will  be  firm  and  dry  at  all  seasons, 
and  which  can  be  easilv  cleaned. 


Road  Construction  57 

Gravel  Roads. 

Gravel  Roads  are  extensively  used,  and 
form  a  fair  substitute  for  the  more  ex- 
pensive types  of  pavement,  whenever  a 
material  of  proper  quality  can  be  obtained. 
Gravel  suitable  for  road  construction 
should  be  composed  of  rock  of  a  hard  and 
tough  nature,  which  will  not  easily  be 
reduced  under  traffic,  and  should  contain 
a  binding  material  such  as  clay,  iron 
oxide,  sihca,  or  some  other  ingredient 
which  will  furnish  a  fine  dust  of  cementi- 
tious  qualities. 

In  the  construction  of  gravel  roads  the 
ordinary  precautions  should  be  taken  to 
first  remove  the  top  soil  and  thoroughly 
roll  the  sub-grade.  A  layer  of  gravel  six 
to  eight  inches  deep  should  be  spread 
evenly,  and  brought  to  a  surface  having  a 
crown  of  three-quarters  inch  per  foot  of 
distance  between  the  edge  and  summit  of 
the  road.  If  the  gravel  contains  an  excess 
of  clay,  the  crov/n  should  be  somewhat  in- 
creased to  compensate  for  the  tendency  to 
rut.    The  top  surface  should  be  composed 


58  Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

of  material  which  will  pass  through  a 
three-quarter  inch  ring,  while  larger  sized 
materials  may  be  used  at  the  bottom. 
Many  of  the  same  objections  may  be  made 
to  gravel  roads  which  are  applicable  to 
earthen  roads,  chief  of  which  may  be  said 
to  be  their  aptitude  to  become  sticky. 

Broken  Stone  Roads. 

Perhaps  the  most  practical  pavement 
for  cemetery  use  is  one  built  of  broken 
stone,  often  referred  to  as  macadam. 
Owing  to  the  low  cost  of  construction 
and  maintenance,  and  to  the  wide  range 
of  materials  of  which  it  may  be  construct- 
ed, it  has  proved  universally  popular. 

In  constructing  a  broken  stone  pave- 
ment for  the  light  use  to  which  it  is 
subjected  in  cemeteries,  six  or  eight 
inches  of  crushed  stone,  ranging  from  one 
to  two  and  a  half  inches  in  diameter, 
should  be  placed  on  a  well  compacted 
foundation,  and  thoroughly  rolled  in  place 
in  two  layers,  the  interstices  being  filled 
with  fine  screenings  washed  into  place 


Road  Construction  59 

with  water.  Wherever  trap,  granite,  or 
other  hard  rock  of  this  character  is  em- 
ployed, it  is  well  to  dress  the  road  with 
three  inches  of  material  which  will  pass 
through  a  three-quarter  inch  ring.  Only 
sufficient  screenings  should  be  used  to 
fill  the  voids  and  to  form  a  smooth,  even 
surface.  The  main  secret  of  success  in 
building  roads  of  this  character,  lies  in 
the  selection  of  road  metals  having  nat- 
ural binding  quahties,  with  a  toughness 
and  hardness  to  warrant  resistance  against 
traffic  and  the  elements,  and  in  laying  such 
materials  so  as  to  form  a  dense,  homo- 
geneous mass,  which  when  dry  from  its 
first  wetting  will  take  on  a  quahty  ap- 
proaching sohd  stone.  The  drainage 
of  the  road  and  the  formation  of  a  crown 
should  tend  to  keep  it  free  from  moisture 
and  consequent  frost  action.  The  crown 
of  a  broken  stone  road  may  be  somewhat 
less  than  that  of  a  gravel  or  earth  road, 
the  slope  from  the  center  to  the  side  be- 
ing about  one-half  inch  per  foot;  one- 
third  being  apphed  to  the  distance  be- 


60  Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

tween  the  center  and  the  quarter  point, 
and  the  remaining  two-thirds  between  the 
quarter  point  and  the  edge  of  the  road. 

Special  Pavements. 

For  many  reasons  the  adoption  of 
standard  pavements,  such  as  brick,  stone 
and  wood  block,  and  sheet  asphalt,  is  un- 
desirable in  cemetery  work,  chiefly  be- 
cause of  the  expense  involved,  and  on 
account  of  the  noise  resulting  from  the 
hard  surfaces.  It  is  desirable  to  secure  a 
pavement  which  may  be  laid  at  moderate 
expense,  which  will  be  pleasing  in  color, 
easily  cleaned,  dustless,  and  which, 
while  possessing  the  necessary  wearing 
qualities,  will  have  a  resiUent,  rubber- 
like nature,  resulting  in  practically  no 
noise  under  traffic.  Such  a  pavement 
may  be  made  in  two  ways: 

1.  By'  the  penetration  method,  in 
which  specially  refined  binders,  in  the 
form  of  tar  or  asphalt,  are  poured  into  the 
road  metal,  and 

2.  By  laying  a  ready  mixed  material 


Road  Construction  61 

composed  of  binder  and  stone  upon  a  pre- 
viously prepared  foundation. 

Pavements  built   by   the   penetration 
method  have  become  popular  on  account 
of  the   simphcity   of   construction,   and 
the  remarkably  good  results  which  have 
been  obtained  at  comparatively  low  cost. 
The  object  sought  should  be  to  secure  on 
a  well  prepared  foundation  an  even  dis- 
tribution of  stone,  well  compacted  and 
bonded,  with  an  upper  course  of  uniform 
thickness  thoroughly  impregnated  but  not 
overcharged  with  a  binding  material  of 
proper  cementitious  value,  and  of  suf- 
ficient range  of  ductility  to  withstand  the 
climatic  changes  without  becoming  too 
viscous,  or  tending  to  disintegrate  under 
extremes  of  heat  and  cold.     The  bottom 
layer  may  be  formed  of  two  and  one-half 
inch  crushed  stone,  four  to  six  inches  in 
thickness,  rolled  wet   and  bonded  with 
screenings.     Upon  this  a  two-inch  layer 
of  stone,  ranging  from  three-quarters  to 
an  inch  and  a  half  in  diameter,  should  be 
formed  to  the  proper  crown  and  rolled 


62  Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

dry.  Into  this  upper  course,  while  in  a 
thoroughly  dry  state  the  binding  material 
may  be  poured,  at  the  rate  of  from  one  to 
one  and  a  half  gallons  per  square  yard, 
having  previously  been  heated  to  a  tem- 
perature of  between  200°  and  300°  F. 
The  binder  should  be  allowed  to  flush  to 
the  surface,  and  should  be  covered  while 
still  hot  with  an  application  of  clean 
sharp  sand,  or  one-quarter  inch  screen- 
ings, free  from  dust  and  moisture.  This 
top  dressing  should  be  rolled  until  the 
binder  has,  by  compression,  been  thor- 
oughly distributed  through  the  upper 
course. 

By  the  adoption  of  the  second  method, 
results  of  a  more  lasting  character  may  be 
secured,  although  the  initial  expense  is 
somewhat  larger  than  by  the  penetration 
method.  The  procedure  is  as  follows: 
Stone  ranging  from  three-fourths  inch  to 
dust  is  graded  to  form  a  minimum  per- 
centage of  voids.  It  is  then  heated  and 
mixed  with  the  binder  by  hand  or  by 
machinery,    forming    an    asphaltic    con- 


Road  Construction  63 

Crete,  which  may  be  laid  similar  to  sheet 
asphalt,  over  a  concrete  or  broken  stone 
base.  The  success  of  such  a  pavement 
for  park  or  cemetery  purposes  Hes  in 
obtaining  the  qualities  previously  men- 
tioned, which  can  only  be  secured  by  the 
use  of  an  asphalt  cement  of  proper  char- 
acter. A  binder  of  too  low  a  penetration 
will  produce  a  hard  and  resistant  surface, 
slippery  when  wet,  and  noisy  under 
horses'  hoofs. 

A  type  of  asphalt,  characterized  by  its 
stability  under  wide  ranges  of  tempera- 
ture and  by  its  rubber-like  nature,  is  made 
by  fluxing  an  American  asphalt  of  the 
nature  of  gilsonite  with  blown  oils  of 
asphaltic  base.  Such  ready  fluxed  as- 
phalts having  a  melting  point  of  about 
185°  F.,  a  penetration  at  77°  F.  of  be- 
tween 64  and  69  (Dow  method),  and  a 
specific  gravity  of  over  98,  are  possibly 
best  suited  for  the  purpose. 

When  traffic  of-  more  severe  nature 
prevails,  binders  of  more  ductile  and 
cementitious  nature  should  be  employed. 


64         Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

In  this  class  may  be  mentioned  the  natural 
lake  asphalts,  some  of  the  California  prod- 
ucts and  asphaltic  oils  reduced  by  dis- 
tillation to  a  sohd  residue.  These  forms 
are  somewhat  more  susceptible  to  tem- 
perature changes  than  the  former  type, 
but  tend  to  produce  pavements  of  greater 
wearing  quahties,  though  having  a  tend- 
ency to  become  somewhat  hard  and 
slippery. 

For  park  and  cemetery  roads,  an  aver- 
age sample  should  have  a  specific  gravity 
of  1.1,  ductility  at  77^  F.,  of  17.3  c.  m., 
a  penetration  at  the  same  temperature  of 
108  (Dow  method),  may  contain  about 
11  per  cent  fixed  carbon,  and  should  have 
its  bitumen  content  entirely  soluble  in 
carbon  tetra  chloride. 

Tar  may  be  substituted  for  asphalt  in 
either  of  the  foregoing  methods  of  road 
construction.  It  may  be  broadly  stated 
that  for  such  purposes  partly  refined  coal 
tars  with  light  oils  are  preferable,  al- 
though there  is  a  tendency  to  incorporate 
a  percentage  of  refined   water  gas  tar. 


Road  Construction  65 

from  which  all  water  and  a  portion  of  the 
hghter  oils  have  been  removed. 

Successful  pavements  have  been  laid 
by  both  the  penetration  and  mixed  meth- 
ods by  using  a  tar  analyzing  as  follows: 
specific  gravity  1.27;  flash  270°  F.;  melt- 
ing point  124°  F.;  penetration  at  77,  24 
(Dow  method) ;  loss  in  five  hours  at  325° 
F.,  7  per  cent;  penetration  after  volatih- 
zation  3  c.  m.;  hardening  87.5  per  cent; 
mineral  .2  per  cent;  fixed  carbon  34  per 
cent. 

Dust  Suppression. 

In  the  suppression  of  dust  lies  one  of  the 
greatest  problems  of  present  day  road 
maintenance.  The  old  method  of  sprink- 
ling with  water  is  ineffectual  and  expen- 
sive. To  obtain  the  best  results  the  road 
should  be  sprinkled  Ughtly  and  often  to 
keep  the  surface  in  a  damp  condition, 
rather  than  to  be  flooded  with  water, 
thereby  tending  to  form  pools,  resulting 
in  the  formation  of  the  pot  holes  so  disas- 
trous to  the  road. 


66  Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

In  order  to  retain  a  moist  surface  with 
a  minimum  amount  of  water,  the  practice 
of  using  sodium  or  calcium  chloride  has 
been  adopted  in  some  cases.  These  chem- 
icals, especially  the  latter,  have  a  property 
of  not  only  conserving  moisture  but  of 
precipitating  it  from  the  atmosphere,  and 
when  mixed  with  water  and  appHed  to 
the  road  surface  will  cause  a  dustless  con- 
dition to  exist  for  a  considerable  length 
of  time.  In  the  use  of  these  chemicals, 
however,  care  must  be  exercised  not  to 
allow  the  solution  to  come  in  contact 
with  grass  or  other  vegetation. 

The  most  common  methods  of  sup- 
pressing dust  and  increasing  the  lasting 
quahties  of  road  surfaces  now  in  operation 
are  by  the  use  of  oils,  tars,  or  asphaltic 
substances,  and  may  in  general  be  divided 
into  three  methods. 

1.  The  appUcation  of  oil  or  tar  in  a 
pure  state  direct  to  the  road  surface. 

2.  The  appUcation  of  oils  in  suspen- 
sion or  solution  with  water. 

3.  The  use  of  special  compounds  of 
oily  nature. 


Road  Construction  67 

In  carrying  out  the  first  method  it  is 
well  to  use  an  oil  which  has  been  freed  of 
its  volatile  elements  in  order  that  it  may 
have  more  body  and  be  less  odoriferous. 
It  is  best  to  use  an  asphaltic  base  oil  of 
from  18  to  21  specific  gravity,  and  to  apply 
to  a  surface  which  has  been  previously 
cleaned  of  all  detritus.  The  oil  can  be  ap- 
plied by  an  ordinary  street  sprinkler,  or 
by  men  with  sprinkling  cans,  the  spouts 
of  which  have  been  flattened.  One  ap- 
plication of  from  half  to  three-quarters 
of  a  gallon  per  square  yard  is  usually 
sufficient  for  one  season's  wear.  The 
road  should  be  covered  with  a  thin  sprink- 
ling of  stone  screenings,  and  allowed  to 
dry  for  a  day  before  opening  to  traffic. 

The  method  of  incorporating  oil  of  this 
character  with  the  road  metal  is  usually 
disastrous,  inasmuch  as  it  destroys  the 
natural  binding  quaUties  of  the  rock,  and 
is  not  of  sufficient  cementitious  value  to 
counteract  this  loss.  Where  binding  ma- 
terial is  employed  in  this  way,  it  should  be 
of  sufficient  density  and  adhesiveness  to 
form  a  firm  bond. 


68  Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

In  the  use  of  oil  emulsions  formed  by 
mechanical  means  an  economical  and 
effective  way  of  dust  suppression  is  ob- 
tained. By  this  method  the  oil  is  appUed 
to  the  road  in  small  but  sufficient  quanti- 
ties to  bind  the  dust  particles  together, 
and  retain  them  on  the  road  surface, 
while  the  objectionable  features  found  in 
applying  heavy  layers  of  oil  are  obviated. 
It  has  been  found  expedient  to  use  a 
mixture  of  paraffin  and  asphaltic  base 
oils,  in  the  proportion  of  about  three  to 
one,  and  to  avoid  the  formation  of  an 
asphaltic  crust  on  the  road  surface  by 
applying  a  sprinkling  of  ''dead^^  sand. 
This  practice  also  results  in  forming  a 
slight  cushion,  desirable  on  macadam 
roads. 

A  plant  for  the  manufacture  of  oil 
emulsion  may  be  made  by  using  a  series 
of  contiguous  tanks  connected  by  means 
of  pipes  fitted  with  valves.  Hot  and 
cold  water  together  with  steam  connec- 
tions should  be  supphed,  and  a  pressure 
pump  installed  in  such  a  manner  that 


Road  Construction  69 

material  may  be  pumped  from  any  tank 
into  any  other,  or  into  a  delivery  vehicle. 
In  preparing  a  batch  of  emulsion  one  tank 
is  isolated  for  the  purpose  of  heating  a 
supply  of  water.  Into  the  second  tank 
fifteen  pounds  of  soap  added  to  100  gal- 
lons of  water  and  boiled  for  five  minutes, 
after  which  60  gallons  of  common  fuel 
oil  and  30  gallons  of  asphaltic  residuum 
are  added,  and  emulsified  by  being  pump- 
ed from  one  tank  to  another  through  a 
reduced  nozzle  for  twenty  minutes.  The 
stock  solution  thus  formed  is  then  pumped 
into  a  sprinkling  cart,  and  five  hundred 
gallons  of  warm  water  added. 

After  three  daily  applications,  the  road 
need  be  treated  but  once  in  three  or  four 
weeks. 

Under  the  third  class  may  be  mentioned 
various  chemical  emulsions,  or  compounds 
which  are  sold  in  concentrated  form,  and 
which  have  the  advantage  of  being  mis- 
cible  in  cold  water  by  reason  of  the  oil 
having  been  treated  with  ammonia,  pot- 
ash, or  caustic  soda  together  with  animal 


70  Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

or  vegetable  fat;  this  reacts  with  the 
chemical  ingredient,  forming  a  soap  and 
aiding  in  emulsification.  Generally  speak- 
ing these  compounds  are  expensive  and 
somewhat  impractical  for  this  reason. 


c  c       r      cc( 


A    CHAPEL    SO    SURROUNDED    WITH    TREES    AND 

SHRUBS  AS  TO  SCARCELY  SHOW 

THE  BUILDING 

Graceland,  Chicago 


THE  CURVED  DRIVE  DISAPPEARS  IN  THE  DISTANCE 

Grat'cland,  Chicago 


CHAPTER  VII 
LANDSCAPE  DEVELOPMENT 

The  landscape  features  of  the  modern 
park  and  the  modern  cemetery  are  es- 
sentially the  same,  with  green  grass, 
flowers,  shrubs  and  trees  so  arranged  as 
to  produce  a  harmonious  effect,  pleasing 
to  the  eye.  The  modem  park  contains 
many  features  for  the  amusement  of  the 
living,  while  the  modem  cemetery  con- 
tains monuments  to  the  dead. 

To  produce  a  pleasing  park-like  effect, 
the  landscape  architect  must  conceive 
the  completed  picture  in  the  imagination, 
and  develop  on  paper  a  detailed  working 
plan,  drawn  to  a  scale.  Such  a  plan  must 
be  a  ''planting  plan"  showing  the  location, 
number  and  variety  of  aU  flowers,  shrubs 
and  trees  to  be  planted.  A  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  topography,  soil  and 
climatic   conditions   is   essential   in   the 


72  Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

making  of  such  plan.  The  plan  should 
be  developed  so  as  to  give  pleasing  vistas 
to  distant  portions  of  the  grounds,  with 
plenty  of  open  places  showing  only  green 
grass. 

Perhaps  the  most  important  feature 
of  the  landscape  plan  is  the  cemetery  en- 
trance. First  impressions  are  always  the 
most  lasting,  whether  this  be  said  of  a 
cemetery  or  anything  else.  Thus  the 
first  impression  of  a  cemetery  should  be 
so  pleasing  that  visitors  will  wish  to  be 
buried  therein.  This  may  be  accomplish- 
ed by  a  distinctly  park-like  effect  near 
the  entrance,  with  plenty  of  lawn  space, 
the  harmonious  grouping  of  the  shrubs, 
and  enough  flowers  to  give  a  color  effect 
to  the  landscape.  Shrubs  planted  around 
the  entrance,  and  ivy  on  stone  or  brick 
buildings  are  quite  essential. 

Carpet  bedding  with  its  formal  straight 
line  effects  has  little  place  in  the  modern 
cemetery — it  is  unnatural  and  expensive. 
Annual  flowers  will  give  color  and  cheer 
when  properly  placed  near  the  entrance, 


Landscape  Development  73 

but  they  should  not  be  placed  in  beds  near 
the  center  of  a  stretch  of  lawn.  They  will 
give  pleasing  effects  when  planted  near 
the  buildings  or  in  front  of  the  shrubbery 
borders.  Some  annuals  such  as  petunias, 
Drummond  phlox,  and  zinnias  get  ragged, 
overgrown  and  messy,  and  need  strict 
care  to  keep  them  neat. 

The  best  landscape  effects  cannot  be 
obtained  when  flowers  are  planted  on  the 
graves.  The  individual  grave  is  but  a 
small  detail  of  the  whole  grounds,  and  the 
general  appearance  of  the  cemetery  should 
not  be  marred  by  planting  thereon.  A 
cemetery  which  gives  the  most  pleasing 
landscape  effects  is  the  most  successful. 
It  is  then  both  a  quiet  resting  place  for 
the  dead,  and  an  inspiration  to  the  living. 

Care  should  be  taken  in  the  planting 
of  evergreens.  Formerly  so  many  of 
these  were  used  in  cemeteries  that  they 
were  not  wanted  elsewhere.  More  re- 
cently there  has  been  a  tendency  to 
leave  them  out  of  cemetery  planting  en- 
tirely, but  this  is  a  great  mistake.     One 


74         Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

trouble  heretofore  has  been  that  a  single 
variety,  the  Norway  Spruce,  was  used, 
and  with  many  the  term  evergreen  has 
been  used  synonymously  with  this  va- 
riety. The  Norway  Spruce  is  pleasing 
only  when  young.  Sooner  or  later  its 
lower  branches  die  and  are  cut  off,  thus 
giving  the  plant  a  trimmed-up  appearance, 
which  is  neither  pleasing  nor  natural. 

There  are  many  varieties  of  evergreens 
which  should  find  a  place  in  cemeteries. 
As  a  rule  they  should  be  planted  in  groups 
of  several  varieties  in  a  group,  but  with 
some  one  kind  predominating.  The  Col- 
orado blue  spruce  gives  a  delightful  color 
effect  with  its  light  color  of  the  new  foli- 
age. Other  good  spruces  are  the  Douglas, 
Hemlock  and  Concolor.  The  White, 
Scotch  and  Austrian  Pines  make  stately 
trees,  while  the  Uttle  Mugho  Pine  gives 
a  delightful  low  effect. 

No  evergreen  should  be  planted  except 
with  the  ball  of  dirt  intact  wrapped  in 
burlap.  When  received  from  the  nursery, 
plant  the  burlap  with  each  plant,  simply 


Landscape  Development  75 

cutting  the  strings  after  being  placed  in 
the  holes  dug  to  receive  them.  Neither 
deciduous  trees  nor  evergreens  should 
have  their  lower  branches  removed.  Nor 
should  they  ever  be  pruned  into  unnatural 
or  formal  shapes.  Nature  gives  each 
plant  a  shape  pecuUar  to  that  variety,  and 
any  attempt  to  interfere  with  nature's 
beauty  gives  stiff  and  formal  effects. 

Generally  speaking  trees  should  be 
grouped  with  only  two  or  three  varieties 
in  a  group.  Single  specimens  should  be 
trees  of  individual  merit,  and  may  be 
planted  on  lots  in  lieu  of  monuments, 
when  such  planting  does  not  interfere 
with  the  general  landscape  scheme.  Too 
many  trees  will  make  too  dense  a  shade 
for  the  best  lawn  effects. 

The  best  varieties  of  trees  for  cemetery 
use  are  those  of  slow  growth.  Trees 
which  send  out  suckers  should  be  avoided. 
On  this  account  the  black  locust  should 
not  be  planted,  especially  in  a  sandy  soil. 
Plant  willows  sparingly,  and  only  then 
along  a  lake  or  stream  of  water.     Avoid 


76         Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

the  Catalpa  for  it  sheds  either  flowers, 
leaves  or  seedpods  every  day  of  the  year, 
all  of  which  must  be  cleaned  up.  The 
Cottonwood  is  nearly  as  bad  in  this  re- 
spect, while  the  leaves  of  the  Carolina 
Poplar  are  the  first  to  litter  up  the  lawn 
in  early  autumn.  The  silver-leaved  or 
Soft  Maple  is  a  rapid  grower  of  pleasing 
appearance  when  young,  but  becomes 
undesirable  with  age. 

The  hard  maples  make  desirable  trees 
for  general  planting,  but  do  not  do  well  in 
a  sandy  soil.  Schwedler's  and  Reiten- 
bach's  maples  are  most  excellent  for 
single  specimens  on  account  of  their  col- 
ored foliage.  The  Norway  Maple  makes 
a  medium-sized  symmetrical  tree,  while 
the  Sugar  Maple  in  time  makes  a  very 
large  tree.  Wier^s  Cut-leaved  Maple  is 
good  for  a  small  individual  specimen,  es- 
pecially if  planted  in  a  group  of  shrubs. 
The  Lindens  and  the  White  and  Black 
Ash  are  excellent.  The  Mountain  Ash 
gives  a  pleasing  appearance  with  its 
unique  foHage   and  red  berries,   but  is 


Landscape  Development  77 

rather  short-lived.  In  locahties  where 
the  Birches  will  succeed,  large  numbers 
of  them  should  be  planted  on  account  of 
their  pleasing  white  bark.  The  Purple 
Beech  sparingly  used  produces  most  ex- 
cellent color  effects.  The  stately  Elm 
has  individual  merit  and  will  grow  in 
most  any  soil.  Avoid  the  Weeping  Mul- 
berry, for  a  cemetery  contains  enough 
things  to  suggest  sorrow  without  en- 
hancing this  feature  in  the  landscape.  It 
should  be  remembered  that  birches,  tulips 
and  sycamores  can  only  be  transplanted 
successfully  in  the  spring.  Most  other 
trees  do  as  well,  or  better,  if  transplanted 
in  autumn. 

While  a  large  variety  of  the  flowering 
shrubs  are  available,  the  main  landscape 
effects  should  be  obtained  with  but  few 
native  varieties.  It  is  especially  impor- 
tant to  avoid  shrubs  which  sucker  readily, 
for  these  will  require  extra  care  to  keep 
them  within  bounds.  Thus  the  common 
purple  Hlac,  or  varieties  grafted  upon  its 
roots,  should  not  be  used.     The  common 


78  Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

white  lilac  is  not  thus  objectionable. 
Lilacs  grafted  upon  privet  roots  are  apt 
to  die  out  and  the  privet  thrive.  Shrubs 
should  be  massed  with  a  dozen  or  more 
of  the  same  variety  in  a  group.  Several 
varieties  may  be  planted  in  the  same 
grouping,  or  a  single  variety  may  be 
grouped  alone.  Care  should  be  exer- 
cised in  the  proper  grouping,  as  some 
kinds  do  not  look  well  when  grouped  with 
discordant  varieties.  Thus  the  coarse 
looking  barberries  should  not  be  planted 
in  the  same  group  with  the  frail  looking 
weigelas. 

Desirable  low  growing  shrubs  are  the 
Snowberry,  Indian  Currant,  Deutzia  grg,- 
cilis.  Spiraea  Anthony  Waterer,  Rosa 
rugosa,  Kerria,  Rhodotypus,  Hydrangea 
and  Thunberg's  Barberry. 

Desirable  medium  growing  shrubs  are 
the  Weigelas,  Forsythias,  Spiraea  Van 
Houttei,  Viburnum  pUcatum  and  Cepha- 
lanthus. 

Among  the  tall  growers  may  be  men- 
tioned the  several  species  of  Philadelphus, 


Landscape  Development  79 

Tartarian  and  Morrow^s  Honeysuckle, 
the  various  Privets,  the  Dogwoods  and 
practically  all  the  Viburnums. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  some 
shrubs  will  not  do  well  in  a  sandy  soil, 
some  succeed  best  in  a  clay  soil,  some 
must  be  planted  only  in  a  dry  situation, 
while  a  few  succeed  only  with  wet  feet. 
The  various  species  of  sumacs  do  well  on 
sandy  soil,  and  most  excellent  effects  may 
be  obtained  by  their  use.  The  Indian 
Currant  and  Snowberry  will  also  do  well 
in  sandy  soils.  The  dogwoods  are  ex- 
cellent for  planting  near  water.  Atten- 
tion must  also  be  given  to  light  and  shade. 
The  lilacs,  pseonies,  Japan  iris  and  others 
must  have  direct  sunlight,  while  the 
Viburnums,  Snowberry  and  Indian  Cur- 
rant will  do  well  in  shady  situations.  In 
fact  only  such  varieties  should  be  planted 
that  are  known  to  be  a  success  in  the 
locality  in  which  the  cemetery  is  situated. 
Texas  and  California,  for  example,  have 
flora  peculiarly  their  own,  and  varieties 
which  do  well  in  New  York  would  not 


80  Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

succeed  in  these  states  and  vice  versa. 
Local  conditions  must  always  be  taken 
into  consideration,  and  the  main  plantings 
made  up  of  native  varieties.  Beginners 
invariably  plant  too  many  varieties,  but 
experience  soon  teaches  that  many  of 
them  will  not  succeed.  Experimentation 
in  this  way  does  no  harm  other  than  the 
loss  of  a  few  plants,  but  care  must  be 
taken  to  have  the  main  planting  of  de- 
pendable varieties. 

A  great  number  of  the  perennial  flowers 
may  be  used,  but  it  should  be  remembered 
that  the  proper  effects  can  be  had  only 
when  they  are  planted  in  large  masses. 
Twenty  or  more  plants  of  the  same  va- 
riety together  will  produce  an  effect, 
when  two  or  three  plants  would  not  be 
noticeable.  Most  perennials  should  be 
transplanted  every  three  or  four  years,  for 
otherwise  they  become  a  tangled  mass 
of  roots  with  but  few  flowers.  Some  ex- 
cellent perennials  are  the  Gaillardia, 
Phlox,  Delphinium,  Hollyhock,  Foxglove, 
Poppy,  Rudbeckia  and  a  host  of  others. 


Landscape  Development  81 

Some  of  the  small  bulbs,  like  the  Lily 
of  the  Valley,  spread  rapidly  and  should 
be  only  sparingly  used. 

In  planting  the  perennials  place  them 
along  the  front  of  the  shrubbery  beds, 
where  they  may  have  a  background  of 
foliage.  It  is  also  important  that  the 
soil  for  the  perennials  be  well  prepared 
before  planting,  for  otherwise  a  large 
number  of  the  plants  are  apt  to  die  out. 
Do  not  plant  perennials  in  freshly  turned 
sod,  for  it  is  better  to  delay  the  planting 
for  a  year,  than  to  attempt  the  planting 
in  an  unprepared  soil. 

A  large  number  of  the  annual  flowers 
may  be  used  about  the  entrance,  and  as 
fillers  among  the  perennials.  Geraniums 
and  Salvias  are  especially  useful  for  color 
effects.  Roses  may  also  be  used  to  ad- 
vantage when  placed  in  beds  near  the 
drives.  In  the  south  and  on  the  Pacific 
coast  many  kinds  of  tea  roses  are  avail- 
able, but  in  the  northern  states  a  selection 
must  be  made  of  the  hybrid  perpetuals, 
and  even  these  will  require  winter  pro- 


82         Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

tection.  They  are  mostly  grafted  upon 
Manetti  roots,  and  after  two  or  three 
years  the  top  or  grafted  portion  is  apt  to 
succumb  to  the  cUmatic  conditions,  new 
shoots  coming  up  from  the  roots.  Hence 
the  rose  beds  will  require  frequent  re- 
newals if  good  buds  are  expected. 

Pleasing  efifects  may  also  be  had  with 
the  use  of  the  ornamental  grasses,  massed 
in  groups.  Three  or  four  varieties  may 
be  used  in  one  group  to  advantage. 

Every  cemetery  should  have  a  small 
nursery  ground  where  the  perennials, 
shrubs  and  trees  can  be  cultivated  in 
rows.  The  main  object  of  the  nursery  is 
to  have  the  plants  on  hand  for  convenient 
transplanting  when  wanted.  The  nur- 
sery stock  can  often  be  purchased  very 
economically  by  the  hundred,  and  if 
young  stock  is  obtained,  it  can  be  grown 
in  the  nursery  for  a  year  or  more  before 
the  permanent  planting.  Shrubs  will 
often  be  wanted  for  filling  in  beds,  or  to 
give  a  proper  setting  to  new  monuments, 
at  a  season  of  the  year  when  the  trans- 


Landscape  Development  83 

planting  could  not  be  done  successfully, 
without  having  the  plants  near  at  hand. 
Greenhouses  are  not  so  much  needed 
in  connection  with  modern  park  cemeter- 
ies, as  was  the  case  with  the  cemeteries  of 
former  years.  Flowers  are  not  used  on 
the  graves,  and  the  annuals  desired  for 
planting  about  the  entrance  may  be 
purchased  of  a  florist,  or  propagated  in 
hotbeds  and  cold  frames  in  the  nursery 
grounds. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  SUPERINTENDENT  AND  HIS 
DUTIES 

The  success  of  a  cemetery  is  almost 
entirely  dependent  upon  the  superin- 
tendent in  charge.  He  should  therefore 
be  selected  with  great  care.  He  should 
have  absolute  control  of  the  grounds 
and  all  that  pertains  thereto,  subject 
only  to  the  orders  of  the  trustees.  His 
financial  remuneration  should  be  in  ac- 
cordance with  his  efficiency,  as  shown  by 
the  appearance  of  the  grounds,  and  his 
treatment  of  the  lot  owners  and  others 
with  whom  he  comes  in  daily  contact. 

The  superintendent  should  enforce  the 
rules,  see  that  all  visitors  conduct  them- 
selves in  a  proper  manner,  supervise  all 
workmen,  have  full  charge  of  funerals 
when  within  the  grounds,  keep  the  rec- 
ords, advise  as  to  the  location  of  graves, 


The  Superintendent  85 

the  selection  of  lots,  the  design  and  set- 
ting of  monuments,  and  a  hundred  other 
things  of  daily  occurrence.  Few  positions 
of  trust  call  for  such  varied  knowledge, 
such  infinite  detail,  such  insight  into 
humankind,  such  forbearance.  A  super- 
intendent must  give  ear  to  the  troubles 
of  the  widow  and  orphan,  dry  the  tears 
of  the  sorrowing,  give  a  word  of  cheer  to 
the  discouraged,  and  at  all  times  present 
a  pleasing  appearance  of  dress  and  man- 
ner. To  become  proficient  in  all  this 
work  may  well  discourage  most  men.  A 
majority  of  the  cemetery  superintendents 
are  careful,  painstaking  men,  worthy  of 
more  remuneration,  as  a  rule,  than  they 
receive.  But  it  is  to  be  regretted  that 
most  of  them  have  come  into  this  work 
with  no  special  aim  in  view  other  than  as 
a  means  of  living.  Many  have  only  local 
experience,  know  but  Httle  of  what  is 
done  in  other  localities,  and  too  often 
look  upon  their  work  as  a  daily  grind. 
To  such  superintendents  the  Association 
of  American  Cemetery   Superintendents 


86  Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

holds  out  a  helping  hand.  Membership 
therein  will  give  a  superintendent  hope, 
encouragement,  ambition.  It  will  show 
him  what  others  are  doing,  and  thus  help 
in  the  solving  of  many  local  problems. 

To  become  an  efficient  superintendent 
may  well  be  the  ambition  of  any  young 
man.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  there  is 
no  school  where  one  may  obtain  at  least 
an  insight  and  guidance  to  proper  meth- 
ods. A  young  man  expecting  to  follow 
this  Une  of  work  must  have  a  good  general 
education  and  plenty  of  tact.  Business 
abihty,  a  knowledge  of  mechanical  draw- 
ing, engineering,  general  horticulture  and 
landscape  gardening  will  all  help.  The 
practical  knowledge  must  be  obtained  by 
actual  experience.  This  may  best  be 
obtained  by  work  in  several  of  the  larger 
park  cemeteries,  where  the  older  and  more 
experienced  superintendents  will  gladly 
give  of  their  knowledge  and  experience 
to  aid  any  deserving  young  man  desiring 
to  enter  this  attractive  field  of  work. 

The  modern  park  cemetery  is  so  largely 


The  Superintendent  87 

dependent  upon  landscape  gardening  for 
its  success,  that  a  knowledge  of  this  art  is 
specially  important  to  a  superintendent. 
Its  general  principles  may  be  learned 
from  several  good  text-books  on  the  sub- 
ject, while  many  of  the  garden  magazines 
contain  helpful  articles.  A  number  of 
the  agricultural  colleges  have  courses  in 
horticulture  and  landscape  gardening, 
which  would  be  of  great  benefit  to  ceme- 
tery superintendents.  The  short  winter 
courses  offered  by  many  of  these  institu- 
tions are  specially  suited  to  the  needs  of 
superintendents. 

A  successful  superintendent  must  have 
a  knowledge  of  trees  and  shrubs.  With  a 
natural  love  for  nature's  outdoor  art  and 
observing  eyes,  much  of  this  knowledge 
can  be  gained  by  daily  observation.  A 
superintendent  should  know  the  heights  to 
which  various  shrubs  grow,  in  what  soil 
conditions  they  will  do  best,  and  the  vari- 
eties which  group  well  together.  In  fact, 
the  better  horticulturist  a  superintendent 
becomes,  the  greater  will  be  his  success. 


CHAPTER  IX 

MAUSOLEUMS,  MONUMENTS  AND 
HEADSTONES 

Many  people  do  not  desire  earth  burial, 
but  wish  the  body  placed  in  sealed  vaults. 
For  such  purposes  family  mausoleums 
containing  a  number  of  recesses  for  the 
placing  of  bodies  are  allowed  in  most 
cemeteries.  Some  cemetery  authorities 
have  even  allowed  the  erection  of  so- 
called  pubhc  mausoleums,  containing 
crypts  for  the  reception  of  as  many  as 
three  hundred  bodies.  Practically  with- 
out exception,  superintendents  condemn 
the  pubhc  mausoleum  idea.  If  allowed 
at  all,  the  pubhc  mausoleum  should  by  all 
means  be  erected,  owned  and  controlled 
by  the  cemetery  association.  In  all  South 
American  countries  public  vault  burial 
is  quite  common. 

Although  cemetery  officials  generally 


A  MAUSOLEUM  POORLY  DESIGNED,  BADLY  CON- 
STRUCTED, AND  WITH  A  USELESS 
COPING  AROUND  THE  LOT 


A  MAUSOLEUM  PROPERLY  PLACED 
Note  the  lawn  in  the  foreground,  the  few  shrubs  next 
to  the  building,  and  the  background 
of  trees  and  shrubs 


Mausoleums  and  Monuments       89 

condemn  vault  burial  as  insanitary,  with 
but  few  exceptions  family  mausoleums 
are  allowed,  it  being  thought  best  to 
cater  to  the  desires  of  all  in  the  disposal 
of  the  human  body.  Cemetery  officials 
are  also  opposed  to  mausoleums,  for  the 
reason  that  at  best  they  are  not  very  per- 
manent structures,  condensation  and  frost 
contributing  very  largely  to  their  de- 
struction. It  is,  as  well,  a  very  difficult 
matter  to  find  a  desirable  place  for  a 
mausoleum  so  as  to  give  it  an  artistic 
setting,  without  infringing  upon  the  rights 
of  adjacent  lot  owners.  The  latter  con- 
sideration does  not  seem  to  have  been 
given  proper  consideration  where  these 
structures  are  numerous. 

Care  should  be  exercised  in  selecting 
material  for  mausoleums.  Cheap  grades 
of  granite,  marble  and  stone  are  not 
enduring.  Concrete,  unless  skillfully 
mixed,  is  unreliable.  All  foundations 
should  be  not  less  than  five  feet  in  depth. 
Cemetery  officials  should  require  the  de- 
sign and  specifications  of  a  mausoleum  to 


90         Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

be  submitted  before  any  permit  for  its 
erection  is  issued.  They  should  also  re- 
quire the  deposit  of  a  special  fund  for  its 
perpetual  care.  In  no  case  should  one 
mausoleum  be  a  dupHcate  of  another.  A 
mausoleum  of  specially  artistic  merit  may 
prove  quite  an  ornament  to  a  cemetery, 
while  one  which  is  commonplace  will  soon 
become  an  objectionable  feature. 

No  mausoleum  should  be  allowed  on  a 
lot  of  less  than  fifty  feet  in  depth,  the 
front  of  the  building  at  least  forty  feet 
from  a  drive.  The  proper  setting  for  a 
mausoleum  is  fully  as  important  as  the 
building  itself.  To  accomphsh  the  best 
results,  the  front  portion  of  the  lot  upon 
which  the  mausoleum  is  erected  should 
be  left  in  grass,  and  at  the  back  of  the 
building  tall  shrubs  and  trees  should  be 
planted.  A  few  low  growing  shrubs 
next  to  and  in  front  of  the  mausoleum, 
will  generally  add  to  its  attractive  fea- 
tures. 

Family  monuments  have  come  into 
use  during  recent  years,  the  headstones 


Mausoleums  and  Monuments       91 

of  former  times  being  practically  individ- 
ual monuments.  It  is  now  the  practice 
to  have  but  a  single  family  monument 
upon  a  lot,  the  only  inscription  thereon 
being  the  family  name — surname  only. 
The  monuments  are  preferably  placed  in 
the  center  of  the  lot,  but  the  location  and 
shape  of  some  lots  may  be  such  as  to 
make  other  locations  more  desirable.  In 
m.an3^  cases  it  will  be  advantageous  to 
have  the  monuments  upon  the  rear  of 
lots  which  face  a  drive. 

Each  m.onument  should  be  of  artistic 
design  and  possess  individual  merit.  No 
monument  should  be  in  any  way  a  copy 
of  another  and  they  should  not  be  crowded 
together.  A  ten  thousand  dollar  monu- 
ment crowded  in  among  a  lot  of  others  of 
hke  value,  does  not  appear  nearly  so  well 
as  a  thousand  dollar  monument  standing 
by  itself.  This  shows  the  advisabiUty 
of  the  purchase  of  large  lots  for  the  display 
of  monuments,  or  rather  the  advisabiUty 
of  allowing  monuments  only  upon  large 
lots. 


92  Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

All  monuments  should  be  of  natural 
stone.  Imitation  affairs  made  of  sheet 
iron  and  the  like  are  distinctly  bad,  and 
should  not  be  allowed.  A  natural  boulder 
is  often  pleasing  and  inexpensive.  Granite 
however,  must  be  the  main  material  for 
their  construction.  All  foundations  for 
monuments  should  be  five  feet  in  depth 
and  constructed  by  cemetery  employees. 
Monuments  should  bear  only  the  family 
name.  To  place  thereon  the  record  of 
each  individual  of  the  family  is  not  only 
useless,  but  detracts  from  the  beauty  of 
the  design. 

It  is  important  that  each  monument 
have  a  proper  setting  to  show  it  off  to  the 
best  advantage.  Such  a  setting  should 
consist  of  plenty  of  green  grass  in  the 
foreground  of  the  picture  presented  to 
the  eye,  with  a  massing  of  shrubs  and 
trees  in  the  background.  This  arrange- 
ment will  make  the  frame,  of  which  the 
monument  is  the  picture.  Just  as  a 
landscape  or  portrait  painting  shows  off 
best  when  surrounded  with  an  appropri- 


A  COSTLY  MONUMENT  BADLY  PLACED 

Noto  the  coping,  fences  and  corner  markers.      A  neglected 

cemetery  because  of  complex  conditions  which 

add  to  cost  of  maintenance 


A  MONUMENT  WITH  A  PROPER  SETTING 
Graceland,  Chicago 


Mausoleums  and  Monuments       93 

ate  frame,  so  a  monument  will  show  to 
best  advantage  when  given  a  proper 
natural  framework.  The  beauty  of  the 
handiwork  of  man  represented  by  the 
monument  is  then  enhanced  by  the 
beauty  of  nature  in  its  surroundings.  Too 
often  the  proper  setting  for  a  monument 
is  given  no  consideration,  by  either  the 
superintendents  or  lot  owners,  and  it  is 
hoped  that  the  future  will  see  a  great 
improvement  in  this  respect.  With  each 
monument  having  artistic  merit,  properly 
placed  in  a  natural  setting,  with  no  other 
stones  showing  above  ground,  and  with 
plenty  of  green  grass  giving  vistas  be- 
tween the  shrubs  and  trees,  a  cemetery 
may  well  be  a  thing  of  beauty  and  a  joy 
forever. 

There  should  be  some  sections  of  a 
cemetery  wherein  no  monuments  are 
allowed.  Such  sections  have  proved 
quite  popular  during  recent  years,  as 
many  parties  do  not  wish  lots  in  monu- 
ment sections,  fearing  that  the  lack  of  a 
monument  upon  their  lot  would  show 


94         Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

poverty.     Where  they  are  given  the  op- 
portunity of  purchasing  a  lot  in  a  section 
I  where  no  monuments  are  allowed,  they 
are  much  better  pleased. 

Headstones  should  in  all  cases  be  placed 
with  the  top  even  with  the  surface,  so  as  to 
allow  a  lawn  mower  to  pass  over  them. 
This  means  economy  in  care  and  greater 
beauty  in  the  general  landscape  appear- 
ance. With  headstones  showing  above 
the  surface  we  have  the  old  graveyard 
scene,  but  buried  in  the  ground  they  do 
not  appear  in  the  landscape  picture,  and 
we  then  have  a  park-hke  effect.  No  one 
thing  contributes  more  to  economy  and 
improvement  in  appearance  than  the 
setting  of  the  headstones  in  the  ground. 
It  costs  more  to  cut  the  grass  around  the 
headstones  when  projecting  above  the 
surface,  than  it  does  to  cut  all  the  grass 
upon  a  lot.  We  thus  very  greatly  de- 
crease the  cost  of  annual  care  by  placing 
them  with  the  top  even  with  the  surface 
of  the  lawn. 

Each  headstone  should  bear  only  the 


Mausoleums  and  Monuments       95 

inscription   in   depressed   letters   of   the 
name  and  year  of  birth  and  death,  thus: 

JOHN  DOE 
1847  — 1910 

Headstones  should  be  of  granite,  with 
flat  top.  They  should  not  be  less  than 
eight,  nor  more  than  twelve  inches  in 
thickness;  nor  more  than  twenty-four 
inches  in  width,  and  at  least  five  inches  in 
depth.  Headstones  of  concrete  will  do 
fairly  well  for  single  graves.  They  are 
easily  made,  and  the  name  and  dates  can 
be  pressed  in  the  top  of  the  mould.  Each 
marker  will  thus  cost  about  fifty  cents. 
It  is  not  claimed  that  concrete  is  durable 
or  even  desirable  for  markers,  but  such 
markers  are  infinitely  better  than  no 
markers  at  all,  or  the  wooden  stakes  com- 
monly used.  It  will  pay  cemeteries  now 
using  wooden  markers  to  substitute  the 
concrete  markers  for  them.  Each  grave 
would  then  be  properly  marked,  and  a 
saving  of  labor  in  care  would  result  by 
having  all  markers  even  with  the  surface. 


CHAPTER  X 
RULES  AND  REGULATIONS 

As  simplicity  is  the  keynote  of  the 
modern  park  cemetery,  the  regulations 
to  that  end  should  plainly  indicate  what 
may  and  what  may  not  be  done,  both  by 
the  lot  owners  and  others.  The  lot  own- 
ers must  be  given  to  understand,  from  the 
very  first,  that  in  the  purchase  of  a  lot, 
they  purchase  only  the  right  of  burial 
thereon,  subject  to  such  regulations  as 
may  then  be  in  force,  or  that  may  after- 
wards be  adopted.  The  regulations 
should  be  such  that  the  park  nature  of  the 
cemetery  will  be  kept  in  view,  and  they 
should  prohibit  anything  which  will  be 
detrimental  to  the  general  appearance, 
or  add  in  any  way  to  the  cost  of  the  care 
of  the  grounds. 

The  following  rules  are  offered  as  sug- 
gestive of  the  ground  to  be  covered:  their 
adoption  will  assure  modern  park  metb- 


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NATURAL  BOULDERS  OFTEN  MAKE  GOOD  MONUMENTS 


Rules  and  Regulations  97 

ods,  and  it  is  strongly  urged  that  new  as- 
sociations follow  them  closely.  The  older 
associations  should  also  adopt  them,  at 
least  so  far  as  any  new  additions  may  be 
developed  from  time  to  time. 

1.  All  lots  are  sold  subject  to  the  rules 
and  regulations  of  this  cemetery  now  in 
force  or  which  may  hereafter  be  adopted. 
They  shall  be  used  for  no  other  purpose 
than  the  burial  of  the  human  dead. 

2.  Subject  to  the  orders  of  the  trus- 
tees, the  superintendent  shall  have  abso- 
lute charge  of  the  cemetery,  and  is  au- 
thorized to  enforce  the  rules,  to  maintain 
order,  to  supervise  all  workmen,  visitors 
and  drivers,  to  expel  from  the  grounds 
any  improper  person,  or  those  who  violate 
the  rules,  and  to  refuse  admission  to  any 
persons  or  materials  when  he  may  deem 
such  action  necessary. 

3.  All  lots  are  sold  subject  to  ordinary 
perpetual  care,  and  all  work  thereon  will 
be  done  under  the  direction  of  the  Super- 
intendent by  the  cemetery  employees, 
except  when  permission  is  otherwise  given. 


98         Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

4.  Lot  owners  shall  not  allow  inter- 
ments on  their  lots  for  a  remuneration, 
nor  shall  any  transfer  or  interest  therein 
be  valid  except  by  the  written  consent  of 
the  Trustees  endorsed  upon  such  transfer 
or  assignment. 

5.  No  enclosures  of  any  nature,  such 
as  fences,  copings,  hedges  or  ditches, 
shall  be  allowed  around  any  lots. 

6.  Grave  mounds  shall  not  be  allowed. 
No  lots  shall  be  raised  above  the  estab- 
lished grade. 

7.  No  trees,  shrubs  or  plants  shall  be 
planted,  pruned  or  removed  without  the 
consent  of  the  Superintendent.  Acting 
for  the  best  interests  of  the  cemetery,  the 
Superintendent  shall  have  authority  to 
prune,  remove  or  transplant  any  tree, 
shrub,  plant,  or  anything  upon  a  lot, 
when  he  may  consider  such  a  course  nec- 
essary. 

8.  Only  one  stone  or  marker  will  be 
allowed,  and  this  shall  be  placed  at  the 
head  of  the  grave.  All  markers  must  be 
of  granite  at  least  five  inches  in  length. 


Rules  and  Regulations  99 

not  less  than  eight  nor  more  than  twelve 
inches  in  thickness,  and  not  more  than 
twenty-four  inches  in  width,  the  top  be- 
ing set  with  and  following  the  contour  of 
the  ground.  No  double  marker,  covering 
more  than  one  grave,   will    be   allowed. 

9.  No  monuments  will  be  allowed  on 
lots  covering  less  than  280  square  feet, 
and  only  one  monument  will  be  allowed 
on  any  lot. 

10.  No  monument  shall  be  less  than 
four  feet  high  and  of  granite.  No  mon- 
ument shall  cover  more  than  seven  per 
cent  of  the  ground  space  of  the  lot.  The 
design  and  specifications  of  monuments 
must  first  be  submitted  to  the  Superin- 
tendent for  approval,  before  being  ordered 
or  placed. 

1 1 .  The  foundation  for  all  monuments 
must  be  at  least  five  feet  deep,  and  will  be 
made  by  the  cemetery  employees  at  the 
expense  of  the  lot  owner — at  least  five  days 
notice  being  required  for  such  purpose. 

12.  No  material  shall  be   allowed  to 
*  remain  longer  than  is    reasonably  nee- 


100        Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

essary  for  any  ^  construction  work.  No 
work  shall  be  started  on  Saturday  which 
cannot  be  completed  on  that  day.  No 
heavy  teaming  will  be  allowed  in  wet 
weather. 

13.  No  interment  will  be  permitted, 
or  body  be  received  unless  the  proper  cer- 
tificate is  furnished  giving  the  name  and 
residence  of  the  deceased,  the  name  of 
the  nearest  relative,  and  the  time,  place, 
and  cause  of  death.  Eight  hours  day- 
Ught  notice  must  be  given  before  any 
interment. 

14.  But  one  interment  shall  be  made 
in  a  grave,  except  a  mother  and  infant, 
or  two  children  in  one  coflSn. 

15.  Funeral  processions,  upon  enter- 
ing the  cemetery,  shall  be  under  the  con- 
trol and  subject  to  the  directions  of  the 
Superintendent. 

16.  No  disinterments  shall  be  made 
except  by  cemetery  employees,  with  the 
consent  of  the  Trustees,  and  upon  the 
written  request  of  the  lot  owner. 

17.  No  interments  shall  be  made  on 
Sundays  or  holidays,  except  in  case  of 


Rules  and  Regulations  101 

special  necessity,  or  contagious  diseases, 
in  which  case  special  fees  will  be  charged. 

18.  No  person  shall  enter  the  cemetery 
except  through  the  gates,  which  will  be 
open  from  seven  a.  m.  to  six  p.  m. 

19.  No  smoking  shall  be  allowed  upon 
the  grounds.  No  dogs  or  persons  with 
firearms  shall  be  permitted  within  the 
grounds. 

20.  Single  graves  will  receive  the 
same  perpetual  care  as  other  portions  of 
the  grounds.  In  case  of  the  removal  of 
a  body  from  a  single  grave,  the  ground 
shall  revert  to  the  cemetery,  and  the 
usual  charge  for  disinterment  will  be  made. 

21.  All  charges  for  interments,  re- 
movals, foundations,  or  other  work,  must 
be  paid  in  advance. 

22.  The  Trustees  reserve  the  right  to 
inter  any  bodies  placed  in  the  receiving 
vault  whenever  thought  necessary. 
Bodies  dead  of  contagious  diseases  can- 
not, under  any  circumstances,  be  placed 
in  the  vault. 

23.  These  rules  and  regulations  may 
be  changed  at  any  time  by  the  Trustees. 


CHAPTER  XI 
PERPETUAL  CARE 

By  perpetual  care  is  meant  the  keeping 
of  the  grounds  in  condition  after  the 
cemetery  has  ceased  to  be  used  for 
burial  purposes.  There  is  every  reason 
why  all  cemeteries  should  have  perpetual 
care.  Ground  once  used  for  burial  pur- 
poses should  ever  remain  sacred,  and  this 
can  only  be  secured  when  the  proper  fund 
is  set  aside  for  its  future  care.  With  such 
a  fund  invested  in  good  securities,  and 
controlled  by  a  cemetery  corporation, 
which  may  be  reasonably  expected  to 
endure  generations  to  come,  all  has  been 
done  that  may  be  done  to  perpetuate  the 
care  of  a  cemetery. 

If  the  first  cemeteries  of  America  had 
been  guarded  by  an  investment  fund  for 
perpetual  care,  we  would  not  have  the 
neglected  conditions  now  so  commonly 


Perpetual  Care  Fund  103 

seen.  Certain  it  is  that  no  new  cemetery 
should  be  estabhshed  without  such  pro- 
vision. In  fact,  the  question  is  now  so 
well  understood  in  most  localities,  that 
a  new  cemetery  without  perpetual  care 
features,  would  be  of  very  doubtful  suc- 
cess, and  would  have  to  cater  to  a  very 
poor  class  of  lot  owners.  Almost  without 
exception  the  new  cemeteries  have  adopt- 
ed the  perpetual  care  feature,  while  the 
older  cemeteries  reahze  the  mistake  of 
not  having  been  so  endowed,  so  that  now 
when  new  sections  are  opened,  provision 
is  made  for  the  perpetual  care  of  such 
sections. 

The  perpetual  care  fund  is  derived 
from  setting  aside  a  part  of  the  amount 
obtained  from  the  lot  sales,  or  from  the 
assessment  of  each  lot  of  a  certain  amount 
per  square  foot.  Where  the  first  men- 
tioned method  is  practiced,  from  ten  to 
fifty  per  cent  of  the  price  of  each  lot  goes 
into  the  fund.  Formerly  the  larger 
amount  was  considered  necessary,  but 
now  that  the  headstones  are  being  placed 


104        Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

even  with  the  ground,  and  the  cost  of 
care  otherwise  reduced,  only  from  ten  to 
twenty  per  cent  of  the  purchase  price  is 
thought  necessary  to  provide  for  perpet- 
ual care.  Where  an  assessment  per  square 
foot  is  levied,  the  amount  necessary 
varies  from  ten  cents  to  two  dollars. 
Twenty-five  cents  per  square  foot  seems 
to  be  considered  a  fair  average. 

The  investment  of  the  perpetual  care 
fund  is  an  important  consideration,  and 
better  legislation  in  this  regard  is  needed, 
in  most  states.  It  is  believed  to  be  more 
satisfactory  to  have  the  funds  kept  within 
the  control  of  the  cemetery  corporation, 
rather  than  in  that  of  general  trust  com- 
panies, in  order  to  avoid  legal  complica- 
tions. The  fund  should  only  be  invested 
in  bonds  and  first  mortgages  where  abso- 
lute security  may  be  expected.  No  defi- 
nite rate  of  interest  can  be  counted  upon, 
as  this  varies  according  to  demand  from 
year  to  year.  In  former  years  five  or  six 
per  cent  interest  could  be  readily  secured, 
but  at  the  present  time  it  would  be  only 


Perpetual  Care  Fund  105 

safe  to  count  on  obtaining  a  three  per  cent 
interest  when  estimating  the  amount  of 
income  from  the  fund  in  future  years. 

Care  must  be  taken  that  no  binding 
contracts  are  entered  into  as  to  what 
constitutes  perpetual  care.  General  care 
only  should  be  specified,  and  under  no 
consideration  should  a  contract  be  made 
calling  for  some  special  work  on  a  lot. 
No  one  can  foretell  the  future,  and  were 
a  contract  made,  for  example,  to  water 
the  grass  during  the  summer  months,  the 
whole  fund  might  be  jeopardized  by  the 
failure  of  a  water  supply. 

The  acceptance  by  a  cemetery  corpo- 
ration of  a  fund  for  the  perpetual  care  of 
certain  lots  only  is  of  doubtful  utility. 
There  can  be  no  question  but  that  a  ceme- 
tery should  have  perpetual  care  for  the 
whole  grounds,  rather  than  individual 
lots.  Of  what  use  is  perpetual  care  for  a 
lot  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  neglected 
lots?  It  stands  to  reason  that  a  cemetery 
will  either  be  cared  for  or  neglected  in 
future  years  as  a  whole.     Its  beauty  or 


106       Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

ugliness  will  be  judged  as  a  whole,  and  not 
by  the  condition  of  a  certain  lot.  A  few 
neglected  lots  will  depreciate  the  esteem 
in  which  the  cemetery  is  held,  more  than 
the  same  number  of  lots  kept  in  fine  con- 
dition, can  maintain  it.  Thus  it  must  be 
that  any  fund  for  the  care  of  certain  lots 
will  also  be  expended  upon  those  adjoin- 
ing. The  practical  working  out  of  this 
feature  means  perpetual  care  for  the 
whole  cemetery.  Lot  owners  will  do  well 
to  see  that  all  lots  are  sold  with  the  per- 
petual care  feature,  for  it  can  then  be 
more  reasonably  expected  that  their  lots 
will  have  better  care  than  would  be  other- 
wise possible. 


CHAPTER  XII 
CEMETERY  RECORDS 

One  of  the  many  improvements  char- 
acteristic of  the  modern  cemetery  is  the 
complete  records  kept.  Such  records  are 
needed  for  many  reasons.  They  are 
useful  to  the  lot  owners  in  the  identifica- 
tion of  their  lots  and  the  location  of  inter- 
ments thereon.  They  are  useful  to  the 
cemetery  officials  in  that  they  furnish  a 
concise  history  of  the  disposal  of  each 
body  admitted  to  the  grounds.  The  laws 
of  most  states  require  that  certain  records 
be  kept,  and  boards  of  health  require  data 
as  to  the  cause  of  death  as  well  as  details 
concerned,  undertaker,  etc.  All  such  rec- 
ords should  be  kept  in  permanent  form. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  some  of  our 
smaller  cemeteries  do  not  keep  the  proper 
records  of  interments.  Without  such 
records  it  is  not  possible  to  definitely 


108        Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

locate  graves  without  headstones,  while  a 
large  per  cent  of  interments  are  made 
without  any  markers.  Thus  the  location 
of  graves  often  becomes  unknown  within 
a  few  years. 

To  keep  accurate  cemetery  records  the 
following  books  are  necessary: 

1.  A  register  of  deeds  giving  location, 
description  and  dimensions  of  each  lot 
sold,  with  name  and  address  of  each  pur- 
chaser. 

2.  An  index  to  all  lot  owners  with  their 
addresses.  It  is  also  well  to  have  the 
name  and  address  of  the  nearest  relative. 

3.  A  register  of  interment,  with  index, 
containing  the  data  generally  required  by 
boards  of  health. 

4.  Lot  diagram  book.  This  is  a  plat 
of  each  lot  which  is  filled  in  from  time  to 
time  as  interments  are  made  and  monu- 
ments erected.  Such  a  diagram  book 
shows  the  condition  of  each  lot  at  all 
times,  and  is  a  great  convenience  for  office 
reference. 

5.  Single  grave  register.     This  should 


Cemetery  Records  109 

give  the  names  in  regular  order,  numbered 
consecutively,  of  interments  made  in  the 
single  grave  section.  A  separate  index 
should  also  be  kept  giving  the  names  al- 
phabetically with  the  grave  number  cor- 
responding to  each  name. 

6.  The  removal  book,  in  which  is 
kept  the  data  relating  to  removals  and 
reinterments. 

Many  cemeteries  keep  these  records  in 
the  nature  of  a  card  index  system,  but  it 
seems  to  be  the  consensus  of  opinion 
among  superintendents  that  the  records 
are  simplified  when  kept  in  books  for  the 
purpose. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
THE  CEMETERY  BUILDINGS 

The  various  buildings  within  a  ceme- 
tery will  vary  so  much  with  the  local  con- 
ditions and  needs  that  but  httle  need  be 
said  regarding  the  subject  in  this  work. 
The  small  cemeteries  will  have  only  a 
small  frame  tool  house,  while  the  large 
cemeteries  will  have  elaborate  ofRce  build- 
ings, costly  chapels,  vaults,  superintend- 
ent's residence,  and  the  like. 

The  office  of  the  cemetery  should  be 
located  directly  at  the  entrance,  and,  in 
fact,  may  be  made  an  integral  part  of  it. 
A  location  just  within  the  grounds  and 
within  an  appropriate  distance  of  the 
drive  is  advisable.  Good  landscape  ef- 
fects may  be  obtained  by  having  the 
office  face  the  entrance,  with  the  drive 
diverging  to  each  side.  The  building 
should  have  architectural  beauty,  and  be 


CHAPEL,   LAKEWOOD,   MINNEAPOLIS,   MINN. 


LADIE.S    WAITIN(;-KOOM,    Ml  NNEAPOLLS.   MINN. 


Cemetery  Buildings  111 

of  durable  construction,  stone  or  brick 
being  preferred.  It  should  have  a  gen- 
eral reception  room  with  adjoining  toilet, 
an  office  room  for  the  transaction  of  gen- 
eral business,  a  fireproof  vault  for  the 
storage  of  records,  and  a  private  office  for 
the  use  of  the  superintendent. 

While  a  common  practice  with  the 
smaller  cemeteries,  it  is  not,  however, 
generally  advisable  to  have  the  superin- 
tendent's residence  near  the  entrance, 
and  to  use  a  front  or  side  room  of  this 
for  office  purposes.  It  is  better  to  have 
the  superintendent's  cottage  aWay  from 
the  entrance,  and  at  least  separated  from 
the  general  grounds  by  landscape  planting, 
so  that  it  may  not  appear  as  a  part  of  the 
cemetery.  A  good  location  for  the  super- 
intendent's residence  is  adjoining  the 
general  grounds  or  across  the  street  from 
them. 

The  chapel  is  a  feature  upon  which 
some  of  the  larger  cemeteries  spend  con- 
siderable money.  Its  nature  and  cost 
will  necessarily  vary  with  local  conditions. 


112        Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

A  location  near  the  entrance  is  desirable, 
but  this  will  depend  upon  landscape  ef- 
fects. The  chapel  need  not  be  large,  and 
in  many  cases  it  will  be  advisable  to  have 
the  chapel  and  office  in  one  building. 
The  chapel  should  be  kept  ready  for  use 
at  all  times  and  have  palms,  ferns  and 
other  plants  as  decorative  features.  In 
case  the  cemetery  has  a  crematory,  this 
should  be  underneath  the  chapel,  with  an 
opening  in  the  chapel  floor  for  the  lower- 
ing of  the  casket. 

A  vault  for  the  reception  of  bodies  pre- 
vious to  burial  has  heretofore  been  con- 
sidered an  essential  feature  of  a  cemetery. 
Such  vaults,  however,  are  not  now  so 
much  used  as  in  former  years,  and  they 
are  needed  only  in  the  more  northern 
states,  where  the  severe  winters  do  not 
allow  of  convenient  burial  at  that  season. 

All  service  buildings  should  be  readily 
accessible,  but  hidden  from  the  general 
grounds  by  proper  landscape  planting. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

CHARGES   FOR   LOTS   AND    GEN- 
ERAL SERVICES 

The  German  expression  of  *^GeIt  regiert 
die  welt/^  is  but  another  way  of  saying 
that  in  its  practical  appHcation  every- 
thing comes  down  to  a  dollars  and  cents 
basis.  The  ideal  ^ ^cemetery  beautiful^' 
of  the  landscape  architect  must  remain 
in  the  imagination  until  placed  on  a  solid 
financial  basis  for  its  practical  construc- 
tion. It  takes  money  to  establish  a 
modern  cemetery,  it  takes  money  to  keep 
it  going,  and  it  requires  a  perpetual  care 
fund  to  assure  its  continuance  in  after 
years.  Thus  a  cemetery  must  first  be  a 
financial  success  in  order  to  be  a  success 
in  other  ways. 

The  fundamental  reason  why  the  old- 
time  graveyards  have  been  so  generally 
neglected,  is  owing  to  a  lack  of  business 


114        Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

principles  in  their  establishment.  In 
times  past  lots  in  cemeteries  were  practi- 
cally given  away,  hence  their  neglect  at 
the  present  time.  We  rarely  get  any- 
thing of  value  without  cost. 

Our  modern  cemeteries  are  modern  be- 
cause they  are  established  and  managed 
on  business  principles.  Nothing  has  been 
expected  to  come  from  nothing.  Money 
has  been  used  to  construct  suitable  burial 
grounds  before  any  lots  have  been  sold. 
Then  in  order  to  assure  a  permanent 
financial  foundation,  the  lots  have  been 
sold  at  prices  commensurate  with  the 
services  rendered.  One  does  not,  as  a 
rule,  purchase  a  lot  in  a  cemetery  but 
once  in  a  Ufetime.  Then  why  expect  it 
for  Uttle  or  nothing?  Often  a  lot  pur- 
chaser will  complain  of  paying  a  hundred 
dollars  for  a  lot  upon  which  he  will  erect  a 
thousand  dollar  monument. 

The  main  source  of  cemetery  revenue 
comes  from  the  sale  of  lots.  Formerly 
the  lots  were  sold  at  so  much  per  square 
foot,  and  in  many  cemeteries  this  is  still 


Charges  115 

practiced.  But  it  is  now  a  common 
practice  to  charge  a  stated  amount  for 
the  lots,  the  price  being  dependent  upon 
size  and  location.  Some  lots  are  decid- 
edly more  desirable  than  others,  and 
should  be  sold  accordingly.  Thus  lots 
near  a  drive  are  more  desirable  than  lots 
near  the  center  of  a  section.  Lots  in 
conspicuous  or  elevated  places  are  more 
desirable  than  others.  Lots  upon  which 
monuments  are  to  be  erected  should  sell 
for  more  per  square  foot  than  the  adjoin- 
ing lots  without  monuments. 

It  is  manifestly  undesirable  in  this  con- 
nection, to  say  at  what  price  lots  should 
be  sold.  Prices  must  necessarily  vary 
in  different  localities,  and  from  year  to 
year,  and  are  so  dependent  upon  the  ser- 
vice rendered,  that  only  general  state- 
ments can  be  made.  What  would  be  only 
a  fair  price  in  a  given  cemetery  and  local- 
ity, would  be  entirely  too  much  in  another 
locality  and  vice  versa.  But  it  should  be 
especially  remembered  that  some  lots 
are  worth  more  than  others  and  should  be 


116        Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

sold  accordingly.  The  ideal  cemetery 
will  contain  both  large  and  small  lots, 
sold  at  all  possible  prices  to  suit  the  needs 
of  a  variety  of  possible  lot  purchasers. 
A  cemetery  should  have  single  graves  for 
those  who  cannot  afford  the  purchase  of 
lots. 

It  is  important  to  have  the  most  de- 
sirable lots  high  enough  in  price  compared 
with  other  lots,  that  all  the  best  lots  may 
not  be  sold  before  the  less  desirable. 
When  a  new  section  is  opened,  prices  for 
that  section  should  be  determined  on  a 
basis  of  value  without  special  reference 
to  the  prices  which  have  formerly  gov- 
erned such  sales.  The  prices  of  lots 
should  always  be  sufficient  to  assure  a 
permanent  income  for  the  management 
of  the  cemetery  along  modern  lines. 

It  is  highly  desirable  to  have  lots  pur- 
chased in  advance  of  interment  thereon. 
In  this  way  a  proper  selection  can  be 
made  without  undue  haste.  With  newly 
established  cemeteries  it  is  also  best  to 
have  lots  purchased  as  soon  as  possible, 


Charges  117 

after  being  offered  for  sale  in  order  to 
create  a  sufficient  fund  for  immediate 
use.  It  is  often  many  years  before  the 
sale  of  lots  is  sufficient  to  provide  a  proper 
revenue  for  maintenance.  In  some  such 
cases  it  is  advisable  to  sell  lots  by  the 
square  foot  without  reference  to  location, 
the  first  purchasers  being  given  the  choice 
of  location. 

Other  sources  of  income  to  a  cemetery 
are  the  charges  for  grave-digging,  the 
foundations  for  headstones  and  monu- 
ments, fining  the  graves  with  evergreens 
and  flowers,  the  use  of  tents  at  funerals, 
lowering  devices,  and  the  fike.  In  many 
places  lowering  devices  and  tents  are 
furnished  by  undertakers,  and  the  grave 
lining  by  florists,  or  undertakers.  But 
there  is  no  reason  why  the  cemetery 
should  not  obtain  whatever  revenue  there 
is  to  be  obtained  from  anything  done  with- 
in the  grounds,  and  cemetery  officials 
should  decide  what  they  wish  to  do,  and 
what  they  may  have  done  by  others. 

Some  of  the  services  for  which  special 


118        Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

charges  have  heretofore  been  made, 
should  be  included  in  the  general  care.  In 
other  words  the  price  paid  for  the  lot 
should  be  sufficient  to  include  some  of  the 
items  for  which  a  charge  was  formerly 
collected.  Thus  as  soon  as  the  graves 
become  sunken,  they  should  be  filled  in 
in  the  general  course  of  cemetery  work. 
The  lot  markers  should  be  set  in  place 
before  the  lots  are  sold.  No  flowers  being 
allowed  on  the  lots,  no  annual  fund  for 
such  purpose  will  be  needed.  The  price 
for  grave-digging  should  include  the  sod- 
ding over  of  the  graves.  The  cemetery 
conducted  entirely  under  perpetual  care 
will  not  require  the  collection  of  funds  for 
annual  care.  In  general,  by  having  the 
first  cost  of  the  lots  sufficient  to  include 
their  care,  greater  simplification  and  less 
detail  results. 


TYPE  OF  LOTS  IN  HARMONY  GROVE,  1860  — 1890 


rVPE  OK   LOTS  1\   LAWN   SEC  liON,     1911 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  OF   OLD 
CEMETERIES 

It  is  naturally  difficult  to  create  an  ideal 
cemetery  out  of  one  that  was  not  estab- 
lished along  modern  park  methods  from 
its  conception.  Yet  the  fact  remains 
that  nearly  all  the  present  cemeteries 
have  great  possibihties  for  beauty;  al- 
though the  longer  they  are  left  under 
present  conditions,  the  more  money  there 
will  be  wasted  from  year  to  year  in  the 
cost  of  up-keep.  With  the  old  style 
methods  the  cost  of  annual  care  must 
necessarily  be  considerable. 

The  greatest  expense  of  annual  care 
consists  in  keeping  the  grass  cut.  Where 
there  are  monuments,  headstones,  foot- 
stones,  coping  and  fences  to  interfere 
with  such  work,  each  lot  becomes  a  sepa- 
rate job.     But  with  the  headstones  even 


120        Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

with  the  ground  and  without  coping, 
fences  and  footstones,  we  have  only  mon- 
uments to  mow  around,  and  this  greatly 
simpHfies  the  work.  The  cemetery  can 
then  be  cared  for  as  a  whole  and  not  as 
individual  lots. 

What  is  needed  in  a  majority  of  our 
cemeteries  is  a  thorough  overhauling  for 
all  time.     By  this  is  not  meant  simply  a 
good  cleaning  up,  such  as  the  raking  off 
of  the  grass  and  weeds,  which  most  cem- 
eteries receive  each  spring.     By  a  thor- 
ough overhauling  is  meant  the  giving  of 
every  lot  and  walk  the  attention  they 
need  to  put  the  cemetery  strictly  on  the 
park  plan.     Everything  possible  must  be 
done  to  simphfy  matters,  for  in  simphcity 
Ues  beauty   and   economy.     All   useless 
materials   such   as   shells,    stones,    glass 
vases,  or  anything  which  causes  labor  in 
care  must  be  taken  away.     There  are  no 
great  problems  in  so  doing,  but  the  work 
must  be  done  thoroughly  as  it  progresses. 
Such  a  thorough  overhauling  does  not 
cost  more  than  the  expense  of  care  for 


Improving  Old  Cemeteries       121 

one  year,  and  once  put  into  condition 
along  park  lines,  the  cost  of  annual  care 
is  decreased  75  per  cent.  Any  superin- 
tendent who  is  practical  in  his  ideas,  and 
knows  what  should  be  done  to  get  away 
from  the  former  complex  conditions,  can 
accompHsh  much  in  a  cemetery. 

If  the  following  simple  things  are  done 
in  any  cemetery  a  great  saving  in  the  cost 
of  care  would  result: 

1.  Remove  fences,  or  hedges  from 
around  all  lots. 

2.  If  copings  are  quite  high,  either  re- 
move them  or  reduce  them  to  surface 
level.  If  they  are  only  a  few  inches  high, 
grade  up  on  both  sides  so  that  the  lawn 
mower  will  pass  over  them. 

3.  If  the  graves,  or  any  of  them,  have 
been  mounded  up,  level  them  off  to  an 
even  surface. 

4.  If  the  walks  are  lower  than  the  lots, 
haul  on  enough  dirt  to  bring  them  up  to 
the  grade  of  the  lots.  If  any  lots  are 
specially  high  take  them  down  to  the 
general  grade.     If  this  cannot  be  done  on 


122        Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

account  of  the  monument  foundations, 
then  lower  the  monument.  If  a  lot  is  on 
the  side  of  a  hill  and  has  been  made  level, 
grade  it  down  to  the  natural  slope  of  the 
hiU. 

5.  Remove  all  footstones. 

6.  For  graves  marked  with  a  wooden 
label,  substitute  simple  headstones  of 
cement  with  the  names  impressed  thereon, 
and  with  the  top  even  with  the  surface. 

7.  With  very  tall  flat  headstones,  sep- 
arate the  inscription  part  from  the  base 
and  place  in  the  ground  with  the  inscrip- 
tion up.  In  some  cases  it  may  be  well 
to  substitute  new  cement  markers  for 
these. 

8.  Have  the  lot  markers  even  with 
the  ground  so  that  the  lawn-mower  will 
pass  over  them. 

9.  Have  only  grass  walks  between  the 
lots. 

10.  Do  not  allow  planting  on  the 
graves.  The  planting  of  shrubs  on  the 
lots  should  conform  to  the  general  land- 
scape features  of  the  grounds.    Do  not 


Improving  Old  Cemeteries       123 

allow  evergreens  to  be  planted  on  the  cor- 
ners of  lots. 

^'But  the  lot  owners  won't  allow  it.'' 
Of  course  not,  because  they  have  here- 
tofore been  more  or  less  taking  care  of 
their  own  lots.  They  have  arranged  the 
lots  as  they  are  because  of  a  desire  to  do 
something,  and  they  knew  of  no  other 
way.  There  is  a  great  need  for  the 
spreading  of  the  gospel  of  simphcity 
among  the  lot  owners,  and  all  cemetery 
officials  should  consider  it  their  duty  to 
aid  in  this  education.  An  explanation 
here,  a  suggestion  there,  a  pointing  out 
of  the  reasons  for  these  simple  things,  will 
soon  bring  about  a  change  in  sentiment, 
so  that  a  well-meaning  superintendent 
can  accomplish  the  desired  results. 

But  nothing  is  m.ore  true  than  the  old 
saying,  ''a  prophet  is  not  without  honor 
save  in  his  own  country.''  Thus  it  is 
that  a  superintendent  cannot  always  do 
what  he  knows  should  be  done  in  the 
cemetery  under  his  charge.  Very  often, 
also,  the  superintendent  is  too  timid  and 


124        Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

fears  criticism  from  some  influential  lot 
owners.  Where  such  is  the  case  a  com- 
petent cemetery  authority,  or  a  land- 
scape architect  giving  attention  to  such 
work,  should  be  engaged  to  give  the 
cemetery  the  needed  overhauling.  A 
meeting  of  the  lot  owners  should  be  called, 
and  the  whole  subject  put  before  them 
in  a  heart-to-heart  talk.  Such  a  meeting 
may  well  take  the  nature  of  a  lecture 
illustrated  with  stereopticon  slides,  show- 
ing the  present  condition  of  the  local 
cemetery,  as  compared  with  others  con- 
ducted on  modern  park  hnes.  In  this 
way  the  possibihties  of  the  local  cemetery, 
and  the  simple  changes  needed  to  bring 
about  a  better  condition  therein,  can  be 
fully  explained.  The  day  following  such 
lecture  the  lot  owners  can  meet  the  cem- 
etery expert  and  the  superintendent  at 
the  cemetery,  when  the  individual  needs 
of  each  lot  can  be  explained. 

The  condition  of  the  majority  of  the 
cemeteries  of  America  is  a  crying  shame. 
The  mistakes  of  the  past  are  being  re- 


Improving  Old  Cemeteries        125 

peated,  and  the  neglect  shown  is  a  disgrace 
to  any  self-respecting  community.  ^'God's 
acre!''  Let  us  have  ''God's  acre  beautiful!" 
City  authorities  or  influential  citizens 
desiring  to  do  good  to  the  communities 
in  which  they  live,  can  do  no  nobler 
work  than  in  a  thorough  overhauUng  of 
the  cemeteries. 

In  many  American  cities  there  are  old 
cemeteries  in  which  burials  are  no  longer 
made.  The  mistake  was  originally  made 
in  locating  them  too  near  the  centers  of 
population.  After  all  the  lots  are  sold, 
such  cemeteries  become  abandoned  in 
less  than  a  single  generation,  most  of  the 
original  lot  owners  being  dead  or  removed 
from  the  locality.  The  present  genera- 
tion is  not  sufficiently  interested  in  the 
graves  of  thirty  years  ago.  So  the  head- 
stones topple  over,  the  monuments  lean 
to  one  side,  graves  sink  in,  weeds  and 
grass  grow  in  luxuriance,  and  lichens 
cover  the  inscriptions,  all  showing  the 
passing  of  the  years. 

An   abandoned   cemetery   acts   as   an 


126        Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

ever-present  obstacle  to  the  improvement 
of  a  locality.  Real  estate  values  remain 
low.  Only  tenement  houses  are  erected, 
and  these  are  often  as  neglected  as  the 
cemetery  itself.  The  best  part  of  the 
city  grows  in  the  opposite  direction,  as 
no  one  desires  to  live  in  such  a  neighbor- 
hood. 

What  is  to  be  done  with  such  an  aban- 
doned cemetery?  There  can  be  but  one 
practical  answer  to  such  a  question,  and 
that  is  to  make  it  into  a  park  or  children's 
playground.  Thus  the  resting  place  of 
the  dead  will  become  the  enjoyable 
breathing  or  recreation  place  of  the  Uving. 
^^Recreation^'  place  is  the  proper  name, 
for  it  is  the  place  of  the  re-creation  of  the 
bodies  of  the  dead  to  their  original  ele- 
ments, and  the  place  of  the  re-creation  of 
the  living  into  healthful  manhood  and 
womanhood,  by  fresh  air  and  outdoor 
exercise.  The  ground  having  served  its 
useful  purpose  in  past  generations,  is 
now  made  enjoyable  for  both  the  present 
and  future  generations. 


Improving  Old  Cemeteries       127 

In  the  reconstruction  of  an  old  ceme- 
tery into  a  park,  or  playground,  the  whole 
surface  is  smoothed  off,  and  coping,  tf ences, 
and  footstones  are  removed.  A  happy 
disposal  of  the  monuments  and  head- 
stones, with  their  quaint  inscriptions, 
would  be  the  erection  of  a  pergola  with 
them  as  was  done  in  Gait,  Ontario.  Here 
the  monuments  were  used  in  the  forma- 
tion of  the  pillars,  with  the  headstones 
in  two  layers,  back  to  back,  placed  be- 
tween. In  this  way  all  the  inscriptions 
show  and  can  be  read,  except  where  the 
consuming  process  of  time  has  rendered 
this  impossible. 

In  case  it  is  desirable  to  leave  the  mon- 
uments to  some  distinguished  dead  un- 
disturbed, these  can  be  surrounded  with 
a  planting  of  shrubbery  to  obscure  them. 
Or  if  the  monuments  are  specially  artistic, 
they  may  be  given  a  proper  setting  of 
shrubs  as  a  background,  thus  making  a 
park  feature  of  them.  The  graves  need 
in  no  way  be  disturbed  or  the  remains  re- 
moved. 


128        Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

Some  of  the  leading  parks  of  America 
were  formerly  graveyards.  The  south 
end  of  Lincoln  Park  in  Chicago  contains 
the  remains  of  the  city^s  first  settlers. 
Eastside  Park  of  Lansing,  Mich.,  was 
formerly  the  city  cemetery,  and  there  are 
other  examples  in  many  localities.  As 
soon  as  the  abandoned  cemeteries  are 
improved,  and  left  as  cemeteries  or  made 
into  parks,  a  change  for  the  better  be- 
comes apparent  in  a  locality. 


o  a 

si 

<J    o 
H    O 

(C  I 

<  2 

73 


O 


e    ,e^  cc  f    « 


CHAPTER  XVI 
CREMATION 

The  ancient  Romans  practiced  crema- 
tion as  a  universal  custom.  The  ashes 
of  the  dead  were  placed  in  urns  and  de- 
posited in  the  tombs.  During  the  past 
century  many  attempts  have  been  made 
in  Europe  and  America  to  revive  this 
ancient  custom,  but  with  no  great  suc- 
cess. The  first  crematory  in  America 
was  built  in  1876,  and  there  are  now  47 
crematories  in  the  United  States,  most 
of  them  being  in  connection  with  ceme- 
teries. The  necessary  retorts  are  gener- 
ally built  in  connection  with  a  chapel, 
or  other  building,  and  cost  from  twelve 
hundred  to  four  thousand  dollars. 

Whatever  beUef  one  may  have  in  a 
future  existence*  common  sense  teaches 
that  the  body  has  to  do  with  this  Hfe  only, 
and  that  when  hfe  leaves  the  body,  it 


130        Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

must  return  to  the  original  elements  from 
which  it  came.  "Dust  to  dust,  ashes  to 
ashes."  While  some  have  a  horror  of 
incineration  after  death,  others  have  the 
same  dread  of  putrefaction.  One  of 
these  processes  is  inevitable,  the  only 
difference  being  in  the  time  consumed, 
the  one  being  rapid  and  the  other  slow. 
The  Egyptians  thought  to  preserve  the 
body  for  all  time  by  embalming,  but  in 
later  years  the  resulting  bodies  were  used 
as  firewood  by  the  wandering  Arabs. 
Dr.  Wickes  states:  "It  has  been  estimated 
that  400,000,000  mummies  were  made  in 
Egypt  up  to  the  seventh  century,  at 
which  time  the  process  was  discontinued." 
In  America  many  endeavor  to  delay 
putrefaction  by  embalming,  placing  the 
body  in  sealed  metallic  caskets,  burial  in 
cement  and  the  Uke.  But  all  precau- 
tions taken  to  preserve  the  body  must 
necessarily  be  useless.  Time  is  eternal 
and  nature^s  laws  cannot  be  overcome. 
The  bodies  now  buried  in  cement  may 
sometime  be  exhibited  in  future  muse- 


Cremation  131 

urns,  just  as  the  mummies  of  the  Pharaohs 
of  ancient  Egypt  are  now  exhibited  to  a 
curious  pubUc. 

The  traveler  in  the  older  centers  of 
civiUzation  is  ever  impressed  with  the 
sense  that  millions  upon  millions  of 
people  have  previously  inhabited  these 
regions.  Burial  places  are  present  upon 
every  hand,  both  within  and  without  the 
cities.  In  many  locaUties  of  southern 
Europe  the  same  ground  is  used  over  and 
over  again,  the  graves  being  reoccupied 
after  a  period  of  from  four  to  fourteen 
years.  In  some  cases  the  grave  is  dug  to 
a  depth  of  25  feet,  several  bodies  being 
placed  in  the  same  grave  with  a  foot  or 
so  of  earth  between. 

As  a  sanitary  precaution  cremation 
must  eventually  come  into  more  general 
use  in  the  larger  cities  of  America.  His- 
tory shows  us  that  the  plague  and  other 
diseases  have  many  times  practically  de- 
populated the  earth.  Various  parts  of 
Asia  and  southern  Europe  form  a  hotbed 
for  cholera,  and  it  is  claimed  that  out- 


132        Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

breaks  of  this  disease  have  been  traced 
to  exhumations.  All  cemetery  workers 
know  what  a  sickening  odor  results  from 
putrefaction,  especially  where  the  body 
is  deposited  in  vaults.  During  the 
French  Revolution  many  of  the  Paris 
mob  were  overcome  and  sickened  upon 
the  breaking  open  of  the  coffin  of  Francis 
I,  buried  250  years  before. 

The  problem  of  getting  room  for  the 
burial  of  the  dead  near  the  large  cities  is 
becoming  more  and  more  acute.  Calvary 
Cemetery  in  New  York  contains  over 
600,000  bodies,  or  approximately  2,800 
per  acre.  Other  cemeteries  are  equally 
crowded,  one  potter's  field  containing 
75,000  bodies.  Land  which  is  set  aside 
for  cemetery  purposes  is,  or  should  be, 
held  for  such  purposes  for  all  time.  Un- 
der perpetual  care  such  will  be  the  case. 
But  American  cities  are  growing  rapidly, 
the  census  of  1910  showing  an  increase 
in  our  cities  of  from  ten  to  246  per  cent. 
Incineration  seems  to  be  the  only  solution 
of  the  disposal  of  the  dead  in  the  future 


Cremation  133 

years,  or  else  there  must  eventually  come 
a  time  when  the  dead  will  occupy  so 
much  ground  that  there  will  be  no  room 
for  the  living. 

From  the  standpoint  of  economy  cre- 
mation has  everything  in  its  favor,  the 
cost  of  incineration  being  about  twenty- 
five  dollars.  Compare  this  amount  with 
the  cost  of  grave-digging,  marker  and 
monument.  As  at  present  practiced  the 
coffin  is  incinerated  with  the  body,  but 
there  is  no  practical  reason  for  so  doing. 
In  many  parts  of  Europe  a  municipal 
coffin  is  used  for  the  funeral  services  of  the 
poor,  the  body  being  taken  from  the  cof- 
fin for  burial.  With  the  present  day 
sanitary  methods  practiced  by  the  un- 
dertakers, coffins  might  well  be  rented  to 
the  poor  for  the  funeral  and  to  carry  the 
body  to  the  crematory.  Those  able  to 
pay  for  a  coffin  could  purchase  one  as  is 
now  done.  With  incineration  as  a  com- 
mon practice,  less  expensive  coffins  would 
be  in  demand,  for  all  would  understand 
to  what  temporary  purpose  they  were  put. 


134        Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

Such  a  practice  would  go  far  to  relieve  the 
high  cost  of  burial. 

All  the  larger  cemeteries  should  be 
equipped  with  a  crematory.  The  purpose 
of  a  cemetery  is  to  dispose  of  the  bodies 
of  the  dead,  and  as  incineration  is  one  of 
the  methods  used,  a  cemetery  cannot  be 
said  to  be  complete  without  an  equip- 
ment for  such  purposes.  The  method  of 
the  disposal  of  the  ashes  should  be  left 
with  the  relatives,  or  to  the  wishes  of  the 
deceased.  Some  will  desire  that  the 
ashes  be  scattered  to  the  four  winds,  or 
cast  upon  river,  lake  or  ocean  water. 
Some  wish  the  ashes  buried  in  the  grave 
the  same  as  the  body  would  otherwise  be 
buried,  while  others  desire  the  ashes 
scattered  on  the  grass  or  deposited  in 
urns.  The  best  disposition  of  the  ashes 
is  undoubtedly  their  burial  in  the  family 
lot. 

In  writing  upon  this  subject  Thomas 
White  of  Riverside  Cemetery,  Fairhaven, 
Mass.,  ably  says:  ^The  office  of  inciner- 
ation is  performed  as  it  should  be  in  a 


Cremation  135 

private  manner.  The  last  rites  concern 
the  immediate  family  only.  The  un- 
seemly conduct  of  curious  crowds  some- 
times witnessed  at  funerals  is  avoided. 
The  family  and  friends  accompany  the 
body  to  the  chapel  and  one  or  two  are 
permitted  to  see  the  body  placed  in  the 
retort,  a  heavy  soapstone  door  is  raised, 
the  casket  pushed  into  a  chamber  made 
of  fire  clay,  the  door  closed  and  the  flames 
turned  on.  There  are  neither  flames, 
smoke  nor  odor  to  cause  sensation;  any- 
thing at  all  gruesome  about  the  process 
exists  only  in  the  imagination.  When  we 
have  overcome  the  prejudice  of  two 
thousand  years  the  benefits  of  cremation 
are  obvious.  When  we  see  the  flower- 
covered  casket  lowered  from  our  sight, 
and  have  been  assured  by  the  pres- 
ence of  one  or  two  friends  that  cremation 
is  an  accomplished  fact,  we  have  per- 
formed for  our  dead  the  last  office.  Which 
is  the  more  shocking  to  the  sensitive 
mind?  Seeing  the  casket  gently  lowered 
beneath  the  chapel  floor  to  undergo  the 


186        Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

quick  process  of  disintegration  by  fire;  or 
seeing  it  lowered  into  the  earth  to  meet 
the  same  end  by  the  slow  and  repulsive 
process  of  corruption?" 

Cremation  has  everything  in  its  favor, 
and  must  eventually  become  a  general 
custom.  It  is  clean,  rapid,  sanitary,  sure. 
Those  who  do  not  favor  it  have  given  the 
subject  httle  or  no  thought,  or  associate 
the  burning  of  the  body  with  that  of  hell 
fire.  Physicians,  undertakers,  cemetery 
employees,  and  all  others  whose  work 
enables  them  to  know  anything  about  the 
subject,  are  in  favor  of  incineration  as 
being  the  most  practical  method  of  the 
disposal  of  the  bodies  of  the  dead. 


CHAPTER  XVII 
CEMETERY  LAW 

The  statutes  of  the  different  states 
vary  considerably  regarding  the  laws  af- 
fecting cemeteries,  common  law  govern- 
ing where  no  particular  statute  covers  a 
case.  There  is  much  uniformity,  how- 
ever, in  the  statutes  relating  to  the  trans- 
portation of  dead  bodies.  Most  states 
prohibit  the  establishment  of  new  cem- 
eteries within  the  corporate  Umits  of  a 
city,  while  some  prohibit  their  estabUsh- 
ment  within  a  given  distance  from  any 
dwelling.  A  few  states  even  prohibit 
cemetery  corporations  for  profit.  Prac- 
tically all  require  a  record  of  burials,  age 
of  the  deceased,  cause  of  death,  and  the 
Uke. 

Every  city  has  ordinances  relating  to 
cemeteries,  the  transportation  and  burial 
of  the  dead.     In  a  general  way  the  city 


138        Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

ordinances  have  the  same  requirements  as 
the  state  laws,  but  more  stringent,  often 
covering  many  things  not  covered  by 
state  law.  All  cities  require  a  burial 
permit,  issued  from  the  Board  of  Health 
office. 

''Mortuary  Law''  by  Perley*  is  a  work 
of  200  pages,  which  covers  the  subject  of 
cemetery  law  quite  ably.  While  of  par- 
ticular interest  to  lawyers  as  a  guide  in 
the  trial  of  cases  affecting  cemeteries,  it  is 
also  of  interest  to  cemetery  officials  as 
relating  to  the  general  laws  affecting 
cemetery  work. 

The  cemetery  laws  of  New  York  state 
have  been  compiled  in  book  form  by 
Powers,t  giving  all  state  statutes  relating 
to  cemeteries,  undertakers,  embalmers 
and  burials.  It  also  contains  forms  for 
bequests,  the  transfer  of  lots,  and  the 
hke.  It  would  be  a  great  convenience 
if  such  a  pubUcation  existed  for  each 
state. 

Cemetery  officials  should  be  posted  on 
all  state  and  city  laws  which  in  any  way 


Cemetery  Law  139 

may  affect  their  work.  For  such  purpose, 
copies  of  all  legislative  enactments  and 
city  ordinances  should  be  kept  at  hand. 
However  much  the  management  may 
desire  to  keep  within  the  law  and  to  avoid 
trouble  with  the  lot  owners  and  others, 
an  action  at  law  is  apt  to  occur  at  any 
time,  often  starting  from  trivial  causes. 

♦"Mortuary  Law,"  by  Sidney  Perley.  Published  by  Geo.  B.  Reed, 

Boston,  1896. 
t  "Laws  of  Cemetery  Associations,"   by  John  Powers.       W.  C. 

Little  &  Co.,  Albany,  N.  Y.,  1901. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

CEMETERY     LITERATURE      AND 
THE  A.  A.  C.  S. 

There  has  been  comparatively  Uttle 
cemetery  Hterature  of  practical  value, 
otherwise  the  present  volume  would  not 
have  been  prepared.  *^0f  the  making  of 
books  there  is  no  end"  cannot  be  said  of 
subjects  relating  to  the  burial  of  the  dead. 
Various  articles  on  the  relation  of  ceme- 
teries to  pubhc  health,  burial  customs  in 
various  countries,  cremation,  etc.,  have 
appeared  from  time  to  time  in  current 
literature.  These  articles  have  been  of  a 
general  nature  and  of  Uttle  real  use  to  one 
engaged  in  cemetery  work.  The  follow- 
ing are  perhaps  the  best  books  and  pam- 
phlets on  the  subject,  though  most  of 
them  are  entirely  out  of  print: 

^^A  catalog  of  Some  Books  Relating  to 
the  Disposal  of  the  Bodies  and  Perpetu- 


Cemetery  Literature  141 

ating  the  Memories  of  the  Dead/^  by 
John  Townsend,  New  York,  1887.  A 
fairly  complete  bibliography  previous  to 
the  date  of  pubhcation,  and  of  interest  to 
those  desiring  to  make  a  full  study  of 
burial  customs. 

"Intramural  Interments  in  Populous 
Cities/'  by  John  H.  Rauch,  M.  D., 
Chicago,  1866.  A  good  presentation  of 
the  relation  of  burials  to  the  pubhc  health, 
caUing  attention  to  the  necessity  of  hav- 
ing cemeteries  away  from  populous  cen- 
ters. Many  of  the  conclusions  reached, 
however,  are  erroneous. 

'^God's  Acre  Beautiful,^'  by  Wm.  Rob- 
inson, London,  1880.  This  work  calls 
attention  to  the  value  of  cremation,  and 
advocates  urn  burial  of  the  ashes. 

"Sepulture.  Its  History,  Methods, 
and  Sanitary  Requirements,"  by  Samuel 
Wickes,  M.  D. ,  Philadelphia,  1844.  This 
work  deals  with  the  history  of  burial  in 
various  countries,  and  the  relation  of 
burials  to  the  public  health.  It  attempts 
to  show  how  outbreaks  of  cholera,  yellow 


142        Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

fever,  and  other  diseases  have  been  traced 
to  cemeteries,  following  the  exhumation 
of  bodies.  In  the  Ught  of  our  present 
knowledge  of  the  dissemination  of  yellow 
fever  and  malaria,  we  know  the  con- 
clusions to  be  fallacious.  The  work  is 
of  interest,  however,  from  its  historic 
data. 

''Modern  Cemeteries,"  Chicago,  1898. 
This  work  contains  various  papers  read 
before  the  meetings  of  the  Association  of 
American  Cemetery  Superintendents  up 
to  the  date  of  its  pubUcation.  Unfortu- 
nately only  a  few  copies  were  printed,  so 
that  the  work  has  been  out  of  print  for 
some  years. 

' 'Perpetual  Care  in  American  Cemeter- 
ies," published  by  R.  J.  Haight,  Chicago, 
1908.  This  Uttle  work  is  a  fine  sympo- 
sium of  the  methods  practiced  by  various 
cemeteries  relating  to  the  collection  and 
investment  of  perpetual  care  funds.  It 
should  be  in  the  hands  of  every  one  inter- 
ested in  cemetery  management. 

"Park  and  Cemetery,"  is  a   monthly 


Cemetery  Literature  143 

journal  published  by  R.  J.  Haight,  Chi- 
cago. It  contains  practical  articles  on 
present  day  methods  of  cemetery  man- 
agement, and  it  is  largely  through  this 
medium  that  the  modern  methods  have 
been  disseminated.  It  is  the  organ  of 
news  between  cemetery  superintendents 
and  others  interested  in  this  work. 

* 'Proceedings  of  the  Association  of 
American  Cemetery  Superintendents" 
contains  the  published  papers  read  before 
the  annual  meetings  of  this  Association. 
It  is  free  to  all  members  of  the  Asso- 
ciation, and  contains  most  valuable  mat- 
ter. 

The  a.  a.  C.  S. 

There  are  always  leaders  in  every  Une 
of  human  endeavor.  In  the  early  eight- 
ies a  few  of  the  leading  cemetery  super- 
intendents reahzed  the  need  of  an  ex- 
change of  ideas  among  themselves.  They 
desired  to  ascertain  the  methods  of  man- 
agement used  by  others,  prices  for  lots, 
burials,  and  the  hke.    Finally  a  meeting 


144       Modern  Park  Cemeteries 

was  called  in  1887,  which  resulted  in  the 
organization  of  the  Association  of  Amer- 
ican Cemetery  Superintendents.  This 
organization  has  proved  a  power  for  good 
in  bringing  about  our  modern  conditions, 
making  the  park  cemeteries  possible. 
The  annual  meetings  of  the  Association 
are  held  in  various  cities,  and  a  part  of  the 
program  of  each  meeting  consists  of  a 
visit  to  the  cemeteries  in  the  immediate 
vicinity.  The  papers  read  before  the 
meetings  are  practical,  being  presented 
by  men  of  experience,  and  the  discussions 
following  each  paper  are  of  great  value  in 
the  exchange  of  ideas. 

All  superintendents  and  other  cemetery 
officials  are  eligible  for  membership  in  the 
Association  upon  the  payment  of  three 
dollars  annual  dues.  Any  cemetery  offi- 
cial or  superintendent  who  fails  to  join 
this  Association  is  simply  standing  in  his 
own  Ught,  contented  perhaps  with  his 
own  knowledge  of  a  subject  which  is  his 
life  work.  Mutual  helpfulness  is  the 
keynote  of  fellowship  with  the  members 


Cemetery  Literature  145 

of  this  organization.  Hence  all  cemetery 
officials  should  join  its  membership.  Such 
an  organization,  working  for  the  good  of 
humanity,  should  receive  the  hearty  co- 
operation of  all. 


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